The 'What If' Factor
by keekers15
Summary: How one monster's slight change in decision can completely reshape the lives of the Winchesters to include but one more family member. An Adam Winchester story yet somewhat Dean!centric. Alternate universe. No Slash.
1. Wait, What?

**Disclaimer: **Sorry everyone, I'm not Kripke so I don't own supernatural or any of its characters and plots, I know it's disappointing.

**A/N: **Alright, so yeah I know it took me forever to post and I won't make excuses with the whole school thing because I think I mostly just got lazy and procrastinated for way too long, I'm hoping that if I start posting what I've got so far it'll inspire me to write some more and edit some of the stuff I'm not entirely happy with. So bring on the reviews, good and bad, and by all means tell me if it's terrible so I don't waste my or anybody else's time! Thanks to the few people who actually took the time to read this :P

**June 29, 2001**

"If you don't take him he'll be placed in a foster home." The social worker, Evvet, answered sincerely, "He doesn't have any other family who are suitable to take him, Mr. Winchester."

Dean suppressed a snort; if only she knew just how unsuitable _they_ were.

Dean looked over to his father who sat on his left with his face buried in a hand, looking more tired than… well, scratch that thought; he'd seen him looking that tired just a couple months ago after Sam had walked out on them, on his way to college.

Dean shook himself of the painful memory of his kid brother… his _oldest _kid brother (he had to differentiate now) before turning his head to the right and staring across the room at his _youngest_ kid brother, where the ten year old was currently sitting at a large round table just like the one they were at, drawing pictures with the supplied pencil crayons that were set around the room.

The kid's dirty blonde hair flopped into his Winchester-green eyes and he tilted his head and bit his lip as he focused hard on the task at hand. Dean absently wondered what he was drawing that had him so enthralled.

With a tired sigh, Dean leaned back in the plastic chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. There was too much to think about: Should they take him or should they leave him? Where would he be better off? With a foster family, where he may never be loved or cared for properly or with them, where he would be in constant danger and may never get a normal life he deserves? A 'normal life' that Sam wanted so bad that he'd up and abandoned his family for? He supposed Adam could just go and do the same thing if that's what he wanted when the time came. And hey, at least then they'd know that they'd made the wrong decision if that's what it came to.

Dean thought his gut was just telling him to take the kid, but that could just be the empty hole in his life, screaming to have his little brother back. So he told it to shut up because nothing was about to replace Sammy, brother or not. But he figured he could to make a new place there for Adam… Yeah, he could definitely do that, he missed having someone to take care of.

"Could you give us a minute?" His father's voice snapped Dean back to the present.

He looked up in time to see the red headed social worker nod and move to a table across the room.

There was a pause between the two oldest Winchesters.

The whole time they'd been hunting the ghouls, they had avoided this conversation. The 'what are we gonna do about the runt' conversation. Hell, they'd barely even spoken about him since John had got the call from the Social Worker Offices of Research and Public Services telling him he had a son whose mother had just passed away. Only a brief and awkward explanation on the 'who', 'what', 'where', 'when' was held followed by a very quiet and tense drive to Minnesota.

"What do you think?" John asked looking his son straight in the eyes.

Dean knew he was the deciding factor, and he knew he'd have to take care of this kid almost single handedly, the same way he'd taken care of Sam all his life, but this time he had a choice; he was being asked, not ordered… but no, that wasn't right. This wasn't a _choice_ at all; it might be for some people but not Dean. This was his _brother _for fuck's sake and he didn't care if he knew the kid or not, he was supposed to take care of his brothers. The world be damned if he wasn't going to take care of this one.

"We take him." Dean answered firmly, meeting John's steady gaze with just as much seriousness. "I'll do it." Dean said, answering all his father's unasked questions with three words.

John nodded, breaking eye contact before turning to wave Evvet back over.

That was that. Within the hour they were walking towards the small ten-year-old, having signed all the required legal forms for Adam's release.

Dean felt unbelievably nervous and could only imagine what his dad must be feeling, he definitely looked tense. He should be, after all he was the kid's long lost father. How was Adam gonna react?

"Hey there, Adam." Evvet's happy go lucky voice interrupted his nervous thoughts. It was clearly a voice she used only on children and Adam looked up at her, visibly unimpressed.

"So it looks like we found a place for you." Evvet continued in the same annoying voice, taking a seat next to Adam. The kid only raised his eyebrows at her and Dean had to smile slightly. Typical Winchester; give anybody who annoys you as hard a time as possible.

Evvet bit her lip, waiting a moment for a response before continuing, "This is your father, and your brother, Dean."

Dean flinched. Ouch. This woman clearly didn't have a whole lot of field experience. Dean watched as the kid's face whipped toward them.

Dean gave the kid a half smile, trying to show some sympathy for the situation he was in and apologies for it in the simple gesture.

The news had shocked the silence out of Adam as he stared wide eyed at the two of them.

"What?" he croaked weakly, through an unwilling throat that was clearly too tight to manage much at the moment.

Dean opened his mouth to say something (wasn't entirely sure what, but he hoped it would get there by the time it had opened) and then closed it again when nothing came out, before wetting his lips and looking to his shoes. Not sure what to do Dean leaned forward, hooked his hands on the edge of the table, and looked up at the kid after another moment, giving him a weak grin and answering him as sincerely as he could, "You're tellin' me."

It didn't help much but he looked a little less terrified, knowing that he wasn't the only one surprised by this information. Dean chanced a quick glance at his dad and found him openly staring at his youngest son, seemingly trying to gauge everything about his character by simply looking at him. Dean felt the strong urge to stomp on his foot and tell him to quit it but knew that wouldn't go over well so he kept to himself.

"Well, I think I might be making things awkward so I'll leave you three to get to know each other. Feel free to head home whenever you're ready." Evvet announced, clearly wanting to get away from the uncomfortable situation.

Dean watched her go and when she was out of sight he turned back to Adam who was looking right back at him clearly trying to steer clear of John's intimidating gaze.

Dean gave an exaggerated eye role, "Annoying one, hey?"

Adam huffed out a bite of nervous laughter.

"You're telling me," Adam said imitating Dean's earlier remark, "You're not the one she had drawing feeling charts earlier."

Dean's face broke into a real grin this time and he laughed, "Feeling charts? Seriously?"

Adam just gave him a small nervous smile in return and shrugged.

There was a small uncomfortable moment of silence that was only really uncomfortable because their dad had yet to say anything. Dean finally turned his head and looked at him, forcing him to make eye contact before he sat down in the chair in front of him pointedly. John paused before following suit.

Clearing his throat, John finally spoke, "I'm sorry about your mother, she was a good person."

Dean looked back to Adam in time to see him duck his head to hide under his bangs and shrug, clearly trying to act like it wasn't bothering him.

Dean and his dad exchanged glances, silently agreeing to leave the subject alone for now.

John paused another moment, thinking out his words.

"I didn't know about you."

Adam glanced up through his bangs.

"If I had, I would have been around. I'm sorry."

Adam searched John's expression for a moment before giving a little smile and turning his gaze back to the crayon whose wrapper he'd been picking at.

"It's okay," Adam replied with another little shrug, "Wasn't your fault; mum didn't want to bother you with me. I'd been asking about you for a while now."

John watched the kid for another moment before giving a reluctant nod and looking to his own folded hands. Dean almost smiled at the childish gesture but didn't think that would earn him any cookies.

"So, whatcha drawing there, kiddo?" Dean asked, trying to ease some of the tension.

Adam glanced up at him and blushed before ducking his head again, "Nothing much, just stupid stuff."

Dean grinned. "I'll be the judge of that." he stated before pushing away from the table and noisily scooting his chair around it, not leaving his seat to do so. At least it made Adam laugh and Dean didn't care that it was directed at _him_, because it was the first real laugh he'd heard from the kid.

Pushing a chair away, Dean settled himself next to his kid brother, only now realizing just how small the kid actually was.

"Alright, now let's see those pictures," Dean said, nudging Adam's arm who was smiling timidly, causing Dean to smile right back.

Adam shifted a small stack of papers towards his brother. Dean's eyebrows rose as he sifted through them, "Wow, these are really good, kid." And he wasn't kidding, he was definitely better than any other ten-year-old he'd met. The drawings were just random things you'd see on a daily basis; a swing set, a cat, a favorite cartoon character, ect.

Adam grinned widely at the praise, feeling proud to have impressed his new brother.

"Thanks, my mum always says-" Adam stopped short, swallowing before correcting himself, "My mum used to say I should be an artist when I grow up."

Dean paused in his page turning to look at Adam only to find that awesome smile completely lost. He frowned, feeling the urge to pull the kid into a hug or something but not entirely sure how that would work; they barely knew each other.

He was saved from having to make a decision as his dad suddenly got up from the chair across the table and walked over to sit down on Adam's other side, holding out a hand towards Dean, gesturing for the drawings.

After flipping through them for a minute, he put them down and looked at Adam.

"These are really good, son," John paused at the last word, as Adam's head turned up to look at him. "You could be an artist some day," John finished, looking Adam straight in the eye like he always did when he was trying to get a point across. They didn't break eye contact for a long moment and Dean had to give the kid kudos for that.

After another moment, John looked back at the drawings in his hands, fiddling with the edge of one paper.

"Wanna get out of here?"

When Adam nodded, they all pulled themselves to their feet and Dean pushed the kid lightly ahead of him and ruffled his hair, "Alright, let's get your stuff."

John gestured for Adam to lead the way; not knowing exactly where his youngest was staying.

Dean didn't even want to think about the million new challenges they'd just brought on themselves, that came along with their new addition. The list went on and on, but that was okay because this was the kinda shit you did for family.


	2. Sasquatches? Werewolves? Ghouls?

**Disclaimer: Don't own supernatural…**

**August 1, 2001**

"Soooo, are werewolves real?"

"Yep."

"Lock ness monster?"

"Yahuh."

"Boogie man?"

"Sure is."

"Sasquatches?"

Dean rolled his eyes. He could only imagine how long this could go on for. It had only been one short month since Adam become a Winchester and it had seemed to fly by. He was a good kid; he didn't whine, or pout, or demand anything. He was able to follow simple instructions like 'brush your teeth' or 'go to bed' without needing to be supervised at every moment… he was a good enough kid that dad had decided to let him in on the family secret and he'd taken it surprisingly well. Then again, that really shouldn't be so surprising; kids are often more accepting of things paranormal than most adults.

So Adam was no longer under the impression that they were just taking a short summer road trip; but more likely a life long road trip and he was all too curious about what that life entailed.

They'd told him about an hour ago, during an eat in breakfast. And after answering a couple of important questions, John had dumped Adam in the back of the impala and escaped to the silence of his own vehicle.

_So, thanks dad, for leaving me with the slew_, Dean thought, glaring slightly at the black truck they were following.

Dean sighed and mentally shook himself; truth was he didn't really mind it this way. It was better than leaving him with dad who would probably tell the poor kid a ton of horror stories and end up scaring him shitless.

"Deeeeaaannn."

Dean rolled his eyes and hung an arm over the back of the bench seat, looking at his brother in the rear view mirror.

"What was that?"

Adam gave a big toothy grin, "Sasquatches; Are they real too?"

Dean gave his own mischievous grin, "Well, your other big brother Sam, he's a Sasquatch."

There was a stunned pause, "Wait, what?"

"Yep, it's true. Tall as a giraffe he is. Had to eventually set him free in the wild; he couldn't fit into any of the motel rooms we got." Dean tried to keep a straight face as he watched his little brother try to figure out if he was telling the truth or not, with growing apprehension crawling its way into his expression.

"Sent him off into the Rockies with a granola bar and a six pack." Dean muttered absently, watching his brother's reaction, "Wonder how he's doing out there..."

Adam's face was now full of worry. "So… so if you work around this sort of stuff for long enough, you can actually catch something like that? Like… like Sasquatchitis or-"

Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing at that comment, almost driving them off the road.

"Deeeaa-eeean!" Adam whined, kicking the back of the seat once before crossing his arms and going red with embarrassment.

"Hey, take it easy on my car." Dean scolded, still chuckling.

"I hatchu," Adam muttered, but there was now a small smile pulling at his lips in good humor.

"Psh, as if."

After a short pause, "So are they real?"

Dean snorted at Adam's persistence, "No, sasquatches are not real."

"Oh," Adam responded with a small frown.

"That 'oh' almost sounded disappointed." Dean said with raised eyebrows, "What, you're not satisfied with just werewolves, nessy and boogie men lurking in dark corners?"

"Naw, I just think a sasquatch would be a cool thing to fight," Adam replied with a grin, and Dean couldn't help but agree once he thought it over.

"Grim reapers?"

"Yeah."

"Leprechauns?"

"Yup."

"Garden gnomes that eat your face?"

"…What?"

"Those things are scary, Dean."

"No."

"But this one time-"

"No."

"…Are you sure?"

"…No."

"…Thanks for the reassurance there, big brother."

Dean laughed and thanked the heavens for supplying him with the perfect prank prop to use on his baby brother. _Garden gnomes._ Just think of the possibilities.

"Witches?"

"Yep."

"…Dragons?"

"No, somehow I doubt they could be kept a secret from the general public."

"Aw, I thought there might be like a Harry Potter thing going on when you said witches were real."

Dean snorted, "Naw, sorry kid, magic isn't nearly as happy go lucky in the real world as it is in those books. There is a _lot_ more blood and soul selling involved."

"Huh, that sucks. I always wanted to go to Hogwarts," Adam announced.

"Sorry, kid. Bad luck," Dean teased lightly with a fond smile.

"Ghouls?"

And that had any trace of a smile gone from his face. Should he tell the kid now?

"Um…"

"…Dean?"

Dean stayed silent, unsure of what he should say.

"…What is it?" Adam continued, worried at his brother's change in demeanor.

Dean didn't respond for a minute or two, wondering how he should go about this. Finally deciding, he pulled off to the side of the empty highway and turned in his seat so he could look Adam in the eye; this wasn't the kind of news that you gave someone passively. Dad would wait up once he noticed they weren't behind him anymore.

Adam sat patiently, if not slightly confusedly, waiting for his brother's answer.

"Ghouls are real, Adam." Dean paused, not sure how he could go about this tactfully. "…They're the reason your mom's dead."

All emotion on Dean's brother's face slid off, replaced by a practiced, cool demeanor which Dean had become accustom to, however would rather Adam break down bawling.

"…Oh," Adam said quietly and Dean bit the side of his cheek in apprehension. "…they murdered my mom." Adam continued with conviction.

It was a statement, not a question, and Dean flinched at the harsh word he used. 'Murder' wasn't a word ten-year-olds should have to use in association with their life.

"We got them though, Adam. Me and dad, we killed 'em."

Adam's bangs hid his eyes as he bent his neck forward, looking down at his feet, and gave a small nod. Dean rolled his eyes in frustration at the familiar movements that surfaced whenever Adam's mom was mentioned, that were meant to exude indifference.

Dean reached into the back seat and gave his sibling's shoulder a small shake.

"Hey, would you quit that and look at me?"

Obediently, a pair of green, watery eyes surfaced to meet their brother's, making Dean's heart break a little to see the pain in them. With a sigh, Dean crawled his way into the back seat and pulled his baby brother into a hug that was quickly returned as little hands curled into the fabric of his shirt and quiet sobs wracked the smaller form.

"I miss her," Adam confessed between sobs.

"I know, kiddo," Dean muttered back, brushing his fingers through his brother's floppy hair, reminding him so much of someone else's. The sobs continued for a long while but Dean didn't care; he'd stay here as long as he was needed. "I got you."

**A/N**- Okay, so just to give you an idea of the layout this story , I'm going to be dedicating only a chapter or two per a year Adam spends with Dean and John up until when the series starts. After that I should be doing the episodes that I think would be made different with Adam's presence (and I'll take special requests if you have any) and most likely some extra happenings that weren't in the series. This isn't going to follow the exact storyline and it's gonna hold some unexpected, so I hope it will stay interesting and original for all of you =)

R/R! I wanna hear the good and the bad!


	3. Not Surprising

Disclaimer: Don't own supernatural, apologies to everyone who thought I was Krypke.

**September 30, 2001**

Dean sat on the ratty old floral sofa in the small apartment that he and Adam were renting, slowly turning his cell phone over in his hands. Adam's birthday had been yesterday, September twenty-ninth and Dean had been the only one around to celebrate it with him. The kid didn't seem to mind, of course, he'd actually seemed to have a blast at the arcade and also later at 'Shrek' which Dean had taken him to see, but Dean was still seriously pissed off that their dad hadn't felt the need to come around and be there for the first birthday Adam spent with them.

Adam had left for school about an hour ago and Dean knew he should be researching nearby hunts that he could get done on weekends, but this was nagging at him too badly. Dad _should_ have been there.

With a sigh, Dean opened the phone and scrolled through his contacts and paused when he passed Sam's name.

He hadn't had any contact with Sam since he'd left in May. Dean knew the kid could look after himself but he suddenly had the strong urge to make sure he was okay. Should he call? What would he tell him? Should he tell him anything? He would have started classes by now, was that going okay?

Dean bit his lip and after a moment's contemplation, he hit send and brought the phone to his ear before he could stop himself. He was getting ready to hang up after 4 rings when his brother's voice finally answered and Dean let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Hullo?"

Dean paused in answering, not quite remembering what he'd planned on doing when Sam picked up, then mentally kicking himself when he realized he hadn't made a plan.

"…Hello?"

"Uh, hey, Sammy."

"…Dean?" Came the somewhat stunned voice of his brother.

"Yeah, I was just… you know, making sure you were… alright or whatever," Dean said, cringing at himself.

"Oh… well yeah, I'm fine…" Sam answered sounding confused, "that's all?"

Dean got the feeling Sam was looking for an apology or maybe wanted to know if dad wanted to take back what he'd said all those months ago. Dean knew it shouldn't, but that made him kind of mad. _Sam_ was the one who walked out on _them_ after all.

Dean snorted, "Yeah, Sam, I guess it is." Going to snap the phone closed, intent on ending the awkward and short-worded conversation.

"Dean, wait! Is like… everything okay over there too? Dad's alright? You're not dying in a ditch somewhere, too proud to say so?" Sam added jokingly, trying to ease some tension. Dean wasn't amused.

He could just imagine the ways he could answer that, _Oh yeah, Sam, everything's A-OK! As it turns out we have a little brother whose mother just got killed by a bunch of ghouls so he's on the road with us now and I'm kinda pissed off at dad right now 'cause he just missed the kid's eleventh birthday yesterday, but it's all good. And you know, it doesn't really matter anyways 'cause to be totally honest with you, I have no idea where dad actually IS at the moment; could be dead for all I know, so you can't really blame him for missing a birthday if that's the case… But you know how it is._

Dean clenched his jaw in frustration at the crappy position he was in and his limited options.

"Dean, you're not actually dying in a ditch, are you?" Sam suddenly asked, worriedly.

"No, Sam, I'm not dying in a ditch. I've got it under control." Dean tried, rolling his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, the worried edge to his voice not easing in the slightest.

"Nothing, see you around, kid." And Dean flipped the phone closed before Sam could get another word in.

Sighing, Dean took a minute to collect himself, hoping he hadn't made his brother suspicious enough to call back and opened the phone again and speed dialed his dad.

The number went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, dad, I was just checking in and…" Dean paused; _screw this_, "It was Adam's birthday yesterday. You said you'd be there."

……………………………………………

Dean leaned against the newly turned eleven-year-old's door frame that night, watching him draw up some of the protection symbols Dean had taught him earlier that day in the sketch book he'd gotten yesterday as a present.

"You all done with your homework then?"

Adam looked up at his voice, grinning sheepishly and shrugged at Dean's raised eyebrows.

"Mostly, just have one math worksheet left."

"Homework, right now, you have to go to bed soon."

Adam gave a big, exaggerated sigh and flopped backwards on his bed. Dean snorted at the exaggeration before walking forward and grabbing the kid around the waist and hoisting him over his shoulder, making Adam squeal in surprise and laugh.

"Alright, where's this dreaded math you speak of?"

Still laughing and trying to wriggle free, Adam managed to direct him to the kitchen.

Dropping Adam into a second hand dinning chair, Dean retrieved his backpack from where it had been abandoned by the door.

Dean was surprised that sitting there and helping his kid brother through some simple math was the happiest he'd been all day. At least he knew what to expect from this member of his family, he could count on this kid not to hurt him like the others had, by abandoning him when he gave them everything. At least for now; maybe not forever, but at least for now he could count on that.

**A/N: Okay, so a pretty short chapter; I'm mostly just trying to build Dean and Adam's relationship here and start bringing Sam into the story a bit. Sorry to everybody who wants Sam to come in and be prominent in the story right away but that won't happen for another few chapters. Just building up anticipation and such :P**

**Tell me what you think and review!**


	4. The Real Deal

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

**November 21, 2002**

"Adam?!"

It was nearing midnight in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the two still-hunting Winchester sons were investigating a rarely used warehouse that had been reporting gruesome deaths for the last month, ranging from 19 year old Katie Barton to 62 year old Gregory Carter.

Dean was currently charging through a large storage room confused and terrified. He didn't know what happened; five seconds ago Adam had been standing two feet away from him, flipping through some old documents, making a smart ass joke about record keepers and their social lives. Dean had turned to flash a light down the hall and when he looked back the next second he found a bunch of old papers, a desk, but no brother.

"ADAM?!"

This was so not happening. The only time Dean had ever allowed the 12 year old to do anything more than research and bone burning during a hunt and he'd already lost the kid.

Crime scene photos of the four victims the haunt had already claimed swept through his mind, all with their insides on their outsides and eyes spread wide in pain and terror. Dean tried to shake them from his head, but they just kept crawling back with more ferocity and clarity than the time before as time wore on and Dean was still unable to locate his brother.

"DAMN IT, I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU BASTARD! IF YOU DO ANYTHING TO MY BROTHER I'LL RIP YOU A PART IN A WAY YOU CAN'T EVEN MATCH!" Dean screamed loud enough and with enough force that if the thing was in the warehouse, it would hear him.

Clenching his jaw, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed Adam's cell, clinging to the desperate hope that he'd answer. After a couple rings, Dean heard something to his left and turned in its direction.

The muffled sound was coming from behind a couple of rusted oil barrels and as Dean put the phone down (but didn't end the call) and pulled his gun into a ready position, he couldn't help but cringe at the thought of what he might find there.

As he rounded the congregation of barrels he let out a breath of relief when he found no dead baby brothers. What he did find was Adam's cell phone and he could now recognize the muffled noise as the song _Heart of Gold _by Black Label Society, meant to alert its owner of an incoming call. What didn't have him quite so relieved was the smear of blood he found on the vent it sat bellow.

Well, at least now he knew where to look.

Dean shook his head at himself as he tucked the phones away; He _knew_ he should have called dad for help on this one. Gruesome murders weren't something you were supposed to take lightly, even as a hunter.

Pulling off the cover of the vent, Dean got down on his hands and knees and started crawling, gun and flashlight held well ahead of him. He followed the small blood smears until they finally lead him to an opening in the bottom of the vent that overlooked what Dean assumed must be the basement because he didn't remember ever having to climb at any time during his travels.

The room was dark, only lit by a bright light that sat far down the large storage room, which was empty but for a few crates that were stacked high at the far wall. What really caught Dean's attention was the dark form of his little brother, struggling but securely tied to a drainage pipe against a shadowed wall and a pale, slightly disfigured looking creature that was just as small, but bulkier than his brother.

The pale figure had its head tilted and was making quiet clicking noises of excitement as it circled closer to Adam, seemingly unsure of where to start, but the malicious look in its eyes gave away its intentions.

"Fucking goblin." Dean muttered in his quietest voice as he assessed the scene. His eyes kept getting caught on his brother and, more specifically, the look of terrified helplessness he carried. Dean had hoped to never see that look on Adam's face but should have known it was inevitable from the get go. That look crawled onto every hunter's face during one hunt or another.

Dean shook himself and focused on getting that look _off_ his brother's face.

A goblin. That wasn't entirely _bad_ news. Goblins were relatively mortal if you shot them enough times, but they _were_ annoyingly persistent and tended to be more than a little gruesome. Dean ran through all his options in his head but knew he had to act quickly, so only one option seemed plausible. And that was to jump in guns a-blazing.

Dean shifted his body and kicked out the vent cover before moving back to his stomach and leveling his gun on the monster that had looked up at the noise and moved towards the opening with insane speed. Dean let go his first shot before the creature had the chance to jump at him causing it to reel back and let out a screech that sounded surprisingly like a dying crow. Dean landed two more before he could no longer get a clear shot as the wounded goblin had retreated to a far wall.

Taking advantage of the time allotted, Dean stored his gun and hoisted his legs through his make shift firing hole, jumped the considerable distance to land in a professional crouch on the cement floor and rose to his feet, looking all the part of the hero for his little brother.

Speaking of whom; he made a beeline for.

"Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean," Adam was repeating, panicked and looking like he was about to pass out but not taking his eyes off him, seemingly afraid he'd disappear if he did.

"Hey, hey, hey," Dean replied quickly, trying for calm, but the words came out sounding breathy and just as panicked. Putting his hands on the side of the kid's head to keep him from shaking so much and he brushing some of the hair out of his eyes, "I gotchu, kiddo. Calm down, it's okay. Are you hurt?"

"Get me out, get me out, get me out," Dean clenched his jaw in concern; yeah, he knew how that felt. One thought at a time was all Adam's brain could seem to process at the moment; hence the fearful mantra.

Dean nodded and brushed his hand through his kid brother's hair one more time before pulling his knife and turning his attention to the ropes holding his brother in place, which were made quick work of.

As soon as the last rope was cut he suddenly found himself being clung to with an iron grip by a little brother who was suddenly very, very quiet. Knowing the kid needed some reassurance and maybe Dean did too, he wrapped his own arms around the smaller form and was suddenly struck by how much bigger he'd actually gotten in just the 2 years Dean had had him.

Dean was abruptly pulled from his rather untimely ponderings as Adam jump away from him.

"Dean!!"

He'd only had time to register surprise before he was suddenly being gripped in a very different sort of embrace. Dean yelled out and threw himself backwards to land on the creature that was making road maps in his back.

"Damn it, fuck!" Dean gasped as he rolled off the squished goblin that simply refused to die.

Dean only had time to throw out his hands defensively and close his eyes as the goblin took another dive at him, claws out and ready for ripping, but was surprised when impact never came. Dean opened his eyes when his brain registered the now familiar, dying-crow-screech to find his brother holding Dean's forgotten knife through the small monster's neck.

Adam quickly let go, looking more than a little disgusted (with himself or the creature was unclear) and backed away with haste when the creature turned on him and let out an angry and frustrated scream and began moving forward. But that was all the time Dean needed to pull his gun, level it and shoot the bastard in the back of the head.

There was a moment's pause when blood burst from the front of the monster's head before it fell forward in an ugly, bloodstained and _dead_ heap.

Breathing heavy, Dean got painfully to his feat: He needed to make sure his brother was okay, the poor kid looked traumatized.

His torso covered in blood due to both Dean's final shot and the up close and personal stab he'd delivered, coupled with the shell shocked look on his face, Adam looked like the poster child for gruesome events that scar kids for life.

Dean took him by the shoulder and pulled him away from the scene towards the only door in the room, which Dean assumed must lead to the stairs out of this place.

It didn't take long for Dean to navigate their way out of the building and to the Impala parked in the back of the building. Dean opened the passenger's side door and gently nudged Adam to take a seat before crouching in front of him, sighing as he did. He put his hands on the sides of his little brother's neck and forced his chin up with his thumbs to make him look him in the eye.

"You hurt?"

Adam just gave an uncaring shrug, "Not really."

Dean waited for more, giving Adam a stern stare, noting the kid's cut lip.

"Meaning…"

"My head kinda hurts where it knocked me out, but it's mostly just bruises and scratches from being dragged around a ventilation shaft." Adam muttered obediently, knowing his brother would make him strip down if he had to.

Dean let the kid's head fall so he could look for the wound and grimaced when he immediately noticed the large bump forming at the side of Adam's head, oozing a steady trickle of blood. He let his brother raise his head again and caught his eyes again before they could run away.

"Are you okay?"

Meaning more than just physically, and Dean knew Adam knew that.

The younger Winchester bit his lip, before just giving another small shrug.

_That would be a no._

Dean nodded, "I'll fix it." He stated confidently and without doubt, giving his baby brother a little hair ruffle (careful to steer clear of his head wound). He got to his feet with a pained grimace, one which didn't go unnoticed and brought Adam flying back to the present.

"Dean, your back."

"What?" Dean asked, confused, as he nudged his brother's legs into the car.

"Your back, Dean. What about your back? It was on you."

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's concern, "Worry about yourself, will you?" He told him exasperatedly before closing the passenger door and making his way to the driver's side and dropping into the seat there, relaxing backwards, feeling extremely tired.

Looking to his brother, he was met by an unhappy frown, making Dean roll his eyes again.

"I'll call dad in the morning and get him to come stitch me up. Happy?"

"Could call him now." Adam muttered stubbornly, still unhappy with the situation.

"Dude, it's one-thirty in the morning."

"So…"

Dean just shook his head at the kid and laid his head back.

After a few moments' silence as Dean thought over the night's events and Adam continued with his worried thoughts, Dean let out an unamused snort and sat up, pulling his keys out as he did. He could just imagine what his dad would say about his judgment call to take Adam on _this_ hunt, out of all hunts to take him out on for his first real job.

"Well that definitely didn't go as planned."

Adam let out his own snort, "Really?"

There was a relieved pause as they pulled away from the warehouse.

"You did good in there, kiddo." Dean praised his brother, resting his arm along the back of the bench seat so he could give his brother a little nudge to the shoulder with his forearm. He was happy to note that this finally had the kid pulling out a small smile.

**A/N: Okay, my first attempt at writing action and didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but it's the best I can do for now and I promise to work on it in future chapters:) Thanks for everything guys! Merry Christmas!**


	5. Reassurance

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or it's characters and plots.

**January 20, 2004**

Dean suppressed an amused smile as they pulled away from the school, chancing a glance at his 13 year old brother who was slumped low in his seat with his arms crossed over himself, looking grouchy and red with embarrassment. Dean sighed and turned back to the road, enjoying the winter's warm, midday rays as he settled on how to approach this situation. It was only noon; long before Dean should be picking his brother up.

"So…" Dean started and paused when Adam huffed an unwilling sigh, "mind telling me why mister Zachary Fry deserved a punch in the face?"

Adam only shrugged, causing Dean to take a minute to search the kid's face.

"Steal your lunch money or something?" When Adam remained silent, Dean continued, "Trip you in the halls? Tease you in front of a girl you like? Sick a pack of rabid garden gnomes on you?"

"Dean…" Adam frowned, frustrated, stopping his brother's questions before he could get too carried away.

Dean looked over, trying to gauge his brother again, "'Cause you know, if it was anything like that you coulda just told me and I would have given him a beat down for you."

Adam snorted, "Yeah, I can just see you beating up a fourteen year old."

"Anything for my little brother." Dean said flashing him a winning grin causing Adam role his eyes.

"Whatever."

After another couple minutes driving, Dean tried again.

"Seriously, dude, what's going on? Was he like bullying you or something?"

When Adam just shifted slightly in his seat, Dean frowned.

"Seriously?"

Adam just gave another one of his pretend-careless shrugs and Dean clenched his jaw and muttered an obscenity, then left an expectant silence to his brother.

"He called me an orphan whose brother got stuck with, because no one else would want a freak like me." Adam confessed to his knees after another long silence.

Dean's eyebrows shot up at that, _damn, kids were getting __**mean**_.

"So you broke the kid's nose?" Adam went an even deeper red of embarrassment and Dean chuckled, "Good job, kiddo." Dean praised lightly, reaching across the seat to give his brother a little nudge, "S'what I would have done."

Dean's smile faded when he wasn't able to pull a smile from his brother.

"You know it's not true right? There are tons of people who would take care of you if something happened to me: Pasture Jim, Uncle Bobby, Caleb and I mean you'll always have dad, he's pretty much invincible-" Dean tried to reassure but was cut short.

"Nothing's gonna happen to you." Adam snapped at him, making Dean's brow crease, concerned.

"Well I wasn't _planning_ on dying anytime soon. I'm just making sure you don't believe any of the shit that idiot kid's told you, you're smarter than that Adam." Dean defended.

Adam looked up at his brother from under his lashes; he'd cut his hair short, so he couldn't hide under his bangs anymore.

"I know, sorry." Adam said rather sheepishly.

Dean nodded, satisfied, "Good." And paused before mocking the principal of Adam's school in a high pitched voice, "_I don't allow bullying in my school Mr. Winchester._" Dean laughed shortly, "I have half a mind to turn around and set that bitch straight. Don't allow bullying my ass." He muttered; shaking his head, hands clench over the steering wheel.

Dean's angry mutterings finally pulled a laugh out of his brother, making Dean's head snap around happily.

"Don't worry about it, Dean. It's a week's suspension; we can go check out that haunting four towns over." Adam reassured, smiling lightly.

Dean couldn't help but agree. He'd been wanting to get over there for a while now but it was too far to drive back and forth between during the week and they'd gone during this last weekend but weren't able to figure it out before Adam had to get back to school for some big poetry exam he had to take on Tuesday.

"Yeah, I guess." Dean said with a small frown, "But don't think you can go and get yourself suspended every time you feel like missing some school."

Adam laughed, "Scout's honor."

"You were never a scout." Dean accused.

"I could have been." Adam said, defensively.

"'Cause you're such a capable woodsman." Dean scoffed.

"What? You didn't like my Macaroni and Cheese I made us when we were hunting that black dog in Wisconsin?" Adam asked, looking hurt.

"Dude, it was runny and it had black things in it."

"Pfft, I wasn't the one who spilt half the package on the ground, so you can blame yourself for the dirt." Adam glared.

"You picked that shit off the ground?!"

"Did you _want_ to go hungry?"

"As opposed to eating dirt, yes. Yes I would."

"Well, fine. Next time you can cook."

"I already regret not doing it last time. You could have said something, I had skittles you know."

"Right, cause candy is so nutritious."

"Oh yeah, and your defiled Kraft Dinner is so much better."

"…Defiled?"

"Shut up, I know big words."

Adam laughed as they pulled into their motel parking lot. Once Dean put the car into park, he turned in his seat to look at his brother seriously.

"You're okay, right? Don't need a hug or something?" It was said with just enough joking that it could be laughed off, but with enough earnestly that Adam knew no one would be judging if he accepted the offer. Adam decided that was all the assurance he needed.

"I think I'll pass on the chick-flick moment, thanks." Adam said with a small eye role.

"You got it." Dean responded with an exaggerated sigh of relief as he pulled himself out the driver's side door, followed closely by his brother. They had some packing to do.

**A/N: Sorry for making you wait so long for this update, guys, but I've been on vacation and I meant to post before I left last Tuesday, but there was so much going on I completely forgot lol. As for the chapter, I know it's kinda short but it was just supposed to be character building. Hoping it turned out alright. Thanks for all the encouragement everyone :)**


	6. Never a Good Place to Be

Disclaimer: I don't own supernatural or any of its plots or characters.

**March 3, 2005**

Dean led his brother into the smoky bar and instantly tensed at the new atmosphere. Although this was the kind of bar Dean usually felt at home in- with it's dim lighting, pool tables, over revealing women and biker guys who were so easily swindled out of their money- there was something a little more threatening in this bar's aura. Something that would usually make Dean walk right back out with his brother in tow.

But not today; this is where both of their case's victims (Howard Burges and Jerome Levi) had supposedly been the night of their disappearance, so this is where they'd stay until they got the information they needed.

The case was still wide open, but judging by the bodies of the victims and by the fact that both had their hearts missing, it was beginning to look like a werewolf. This caused Dean to worry all the more about their current situation because anyone they ran into could be their puppy and they wouldn't even know it. The thought that they could easily become the huntees and not the hunters if they pissed off the wrong person tonight, was on Dean's mind as he approached the bar, giving Adam a meaningful look before he did so, clearly telling him to keep his mouth shut and not to draw attention.

Leaning forward against the bar, Dean waved the bartender over, feeling Adam settling against the bar at his shoulder turned the opposite direction, keeping a look out. Just like Dean had taught him to.

The tender lumbered towards them, looking all the part of the shady bar owner with his balding, greased back black hair, calloused fingers, deep set eyes and judgmental frown.

Tossing the dishtowel he'd been in the process of using over his shoulder for safe keeping, the man finally spoke as he reached the two brothers.

"I can't serve the squirt," he said flatly as he came to a halt in front of Dean.

Dean felt the 14 year old tense at his side, clearly unimpressed at being labeled 'squirt' but knew better than to say anything and kept his mouth shut. The kid liked to fancy himself a tough guy these days and Dean had to smother a wicked grin at his brother's expense.

"Naw, I wasn't gonna ask you too; I wouldn't trust the kid to hold his liquor anyways," Dean said, giving the man an agitated shrug; hoping to make him think that he'd really rather not have the tag-along in the first place.

The bartender gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"So what can I get for you?" He asked gruffly.

"Just a beer would be great." Dean responded, sliding into a bar stool.

When the man turned to fill his order, Dean chanced a glance at Adam only to find a deep frown on his brother's face. He wasn't exactly sure what it was there for; the kid couldn't be that upset about the 'squirt' comment.

Feeling his brother's eyes on him Adam turned his head to meet his gaze. There, Dean saw an uneasy confusion with a small undertone of concern but it was enough to make Dean instantly apprehensive and squint around the murky bar.

Dean only had a moment to search the surroundings; barely enough time to assess anything before the thunk of his beer hitting the counter in front of him forced him to pull his eyes back to the matter at hand.

"'M Jeremy by the way." He fabricated professionally, pulling the bottle towards himself.

"Henry." The man replied, pulling out a glass from beneath the counter and beginning the task of shining it with the dish cloth he'd earlier stowed.

Dean paused long enough to reckon how he should go about pulling answers from this unusually muted bartender.

"You know, I got a buddy who went missing from round here not to long ago…"

* * *

Dean didn't know how things had unraveled as fast as they did, but as soon as he'd started questioning about the victims, the entire bar seemed to have gone tense.

Currently, Dean was doing all he could to shield his little brother from view as he made a quick paced break for the door after he said a quick and hopefully unsuspicious goodbye to Henry. He herded Adam ahead of him, trying to act oblivious to the menacing gazes, however they didn't make it far as a man close to the exit stood up from his seat and casually leaned against the frame, staring Dean down.

Dean stopped and glanced around at the bar which seemed to have become a living thing as about a dozen guys got up and closed in from all ends of the slum.

"Ya know, we really didn't like them two kids round here." Dean whipped around to face the voice, only to find a very large grey haired biker guy, goatee and leather jacket in tow, leaning back against a bar table in a familiarly careful way that set Dean even more on edge.

"Dunno what you're talking about, buddy," Dean said, wishing Adam was either a lot younger so he could hide him easier or a lot older so Dean wouldn't have to worry if the midget had any chance of holding his own in the fight that Dean was now thoroughly expecting.

The guy puckered his lips in thought, "See, I think you do."

"Nasty gambling habits them two guys had," another thug continued casually, "Couldn't pay up lately."

"Nope, eventually had to go collect," biker guy number one finished casually, as if talking about something only slightly distasteful.

Adam, clearly confused by the underlying meanings spoke out, "Well you can't really collect when the guys are broke, can you?"

Dean discreetly stepped on his brother's foot. Hard.

A harsh looking man to their right showed off a wicked grin.

"It's not dollars we made them pay in, kid?"

A dangerously gleeful man at his shoulder laughed, "Yep, Sometimes we end up taking whatever's most valuable to them."

The first man to speak to Dean picked up, "Sometimes that's their hearts… sometimes it's a family member…" His eyes trailed to Adam and Dean instantly doubled his defensive posture but this just made the guy grin wider, "Neither are of much worth to us though. We prefer to get paid in cash; don't like getting our hands_ too_ dirty." He paused, giving Dean an evaluating gaze, "Since Howie was such a great buddy o' yours, I'm sure you wouldn't mind paying up for 'im, eh?"

"Sorry, man, I'm just as broke as he was." Dean said, wondering how he could get them out of this. He wasn't sure if these guys were all talk or if they really were the monsters they were making themselves out to be. What he did know was that he and his brother were far too exposed for his liking.

"Crying shame that is."

And the next moment Dean had four guys on him, pulling him away from Adam; not that Dean was going that easily, delivering elbows and punches and anything else he could manage as he tried to get free.

"Get the hell off me!"

Dean deftly heard Adam calling out behind him and swiveled his head to see his brother being held off the ground with a pair of large arms wrapped around his middle, but the guy holding him was clearly having some trouble as the kid kicked out at any person who tried to offer assistance in handling him and scratched long gashes in his assailant's arms.

"Dean!"

"You hurt him and I'll kill you! Leave him the fuck alone!" He yelled in his brother's direction as he grabbed a guy who lunged at him and swung him into another.

A skinny guy (scrawny compared to the rest of them) walked calmly out of the wings with a switch blade in hand and came to a halt at the guy who was holding Adam's shoulder and held out his arm to hold the knife to the kid's collarbone.

Both Dean and Adam instantly went still.

"Calm down or I slit his throat."

Dean swallowed and slowly held up his hands, looking the guy straight in the eyes.

"I'm calm, man. Don't hurt him."

This only served to make the guy grin maliciously. He spoke to Adam but didn't break eye contact with Dean.

"So who is this guy to you kid? Couldn't be your daddy, he'd have been what, ten when you were born? A big brother maybe?"

"I was twelve, but thanks for the compliment," Dean said bitterly, glaring.

The guy just continued grinning as he ran the dull edge of his blade across Adam's neck, making Dean's stomach clench painfully at the vulnerability of it. Just how did something as straight forward as asking some questions get this screwed up? They were professionals; this kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen.

"So, I'm wondering if you're as broke as you said you were five minutes ago." The knife wielder said, looking at Dean with shadowed eyes, "Just how much is your brother's life worth to you?"

Dean glanced at Adam to offer some reassurance before he said his next words. The kid was doing a poor job of hiding just how terrified he was, Dean wasn't sure if it was for his sake or so not to give the guys around them the satisfaction of seeing it.

"Listen, man, I just don't want my mom to go off on me about how I got my brother killed in a bar fight or something. He's really not that big a deal to me, but if it makes you feel any better-" Dean reached for his pocket but was stopped by a firm hand from his right. Dean looked up to meet the eyes of the guy there, "Dude, I'm just reaching for my wallet."

The thug looked around at the others for permission to let him reach before letting go.

Dean pulled out his wallet and turned it out on a table to the left of him.

"There. Twenty-two dollars and a bunch of nickels and dimes. That's all I got, man, you can have it."

That finally whipped the grin off the sadistic, knife wielding bastard's face as he stared down at the contents of the table. After a moment he raised his eyes to glare at Dean, a sneer pulling at his upper lip before pulling the knife away and turning to the guy who'd seized Adam.

Dean let out a breath at having the knife off his brother's throat.

"Set him over there." Dean tensed again as the guy turned and set Adam down in a chair behind him, where his brother didn't dare move, with several large men standing over him.

The skinny guy looked over his shoulder to lock eyes with Dean, his expression dead and uncaring and Dean knew what was going to happen a moment before the guy swung around and landed a hard punch across his brother's face.

Dean heard himself cry out unintelligibly as he watched another guy land a punch in Adam's gut causing the kid to double forward. Dean angrily lunged forward to save his brother but he was quickly knocked back as a fist collided with his own face with a hell of a lot of weight behind it.

Dean barely took a second to shake the dizziness from his head before he picked himself up and started to fight his way towards his brother; doing his best not to loose sight of him at anytime, but it seemed every guy he brought down was simply replaced by another. He felt like he was in one of those dreams where you're doing something as fast as you can but you just don't seem to make any progress.

Dean had to hand it to Adam, he wasn't making a sound as the fists and kicks hit him; Dean figured the pain he was feeling had to be enough for the both of them. He was doing all he could to get to his brother who was on the floor getting the shit beat out of him but he just kept getting pushed farther away; if that wasn't painful he didn't know what was.

The skinny guy (that Dean was beginning to suspect to be the ring leader) finally called off the men after a good five minutes, causing Dean to almost collapse in relief.

He watched as Adam rolled onto his back, breathing unevenly and the guy knelt down next to him and cocked his head to the side, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

"You're a tough kid; I'm impressed, really. Too bad you don't have a brother who cares enough about you to be proud of that." The guy lifted his head to look at Dean once again and his smile only widened when he saw the undisguised pleading in his eyes; pleading for his brother's life. "Or maybe you do."

And then he got to his feet and turned to his nearest thug.

"Get them out of here."

Dean could have cried.

"If I see either of you again or if you breathe a word of _any_ of this, you're both dead." He finished before turning and making his way to the bar with an indifferent stride.

Dean suddenly found himself being hauled towards the exit and tossed out the door, just managing to keep his footing despite his injuries. But turning to face the bar, he was forced to catch his brother as he almost tumbled face first into the pavement. Dean only paused long enough to make sure the kid was _breathing_ before hauling him over his shoulder and making a break for his car; not fond of the idea of sticking around for another drink.

Dean went straight to the driver's side and ducked his brother in, sliding him only half way across the seat before heading in after him. Adam's lack of movement was beginning to worry him.

As he pulled them out onto the road, Dean wrapped an arm around his baby brother's chest who was already practically in his lap. Dean didn't care in the slightest about his no chick-flick policy at that moment, he just needed some reassurance that his brother was right there next to him and _alive_.

His throat constricted when he felt a single sob wrack through his baby brother, causing Dean to only hold on tighter and mutter calming gibberish to the kid like 'You're safe', 'You're fine" and 'I got you'.

Their motel was luckily (or unluckily, depending what your main focus was) only about two blocks from the bar and Dean was soon pulling in.

After assuring Adam he'd be right back, he disentangled himself from his brother, retrieved the first aid kit from the trunk and returned back to the front to help his brother into their motel room.

"Can you walk?" He asked, worriedly, leaning into the car.

Adam opened his mouth to speak but closed it after a moment and shrugged; either not actually sure if he could or too embarrassed to admit he couldn't.

"S'ok, kiddo." Dean said gently, giving the kid's hair a little brush through before taking him up in his arms again, with only a slight mumble of protest from the youngest and hauling them the short distance to their room.

After having some trouble with the door, Dean managed to get them inside and transfer Adam over to the nearest bed.

Dean took a step back and was suddenly struck by the insane fact that they'd actually just gotten out of that alive: Humans were often far more deadly than anything they hunted.

…………………………………………………

After doing all he could for Adam's one cracked, three broken ribs, broken wrist, dislocated shoulder and moderate concussion, among other less serious injuries _and_ taking care of his own more artificial wounds, Dean sat watching his sleeping brother's chest rise and fall, slightly amazed that it could actually still do that.

Giving a tired sigh and rubbing at his forehead, Dean got up from his spot on the empty bed and carefully climbed over his brother to the side of the bed closest to the door and kicked off his shoes before getting under the blankets.

Dean gave an unamused snort when he realized that for once, when someone commented that they looked like they'd been in a bar fight, they could actually nod and agree and they wouldn't even be lying.

Adam would be grinning in a week, (when he stopped hurting quite so much) at the fact that he could go to school and tell all the girls about this- if not a slightly revised version- with all the bruises to prove it.

Dean huffed another exhausted sigh, head tilting to the side to look at his brother and frowned at the nasty bruises already turning color around a swelling eye and knew he, himself, really didn't look much better in that respect.

Dean snuck an arm under his brother's neck, to give himself and Adam some reassurance (despite however out of it the younger was) before falling into a shallow sleep, haunted with the feeling of utter helplessness that had engulfed him not three hours earlier.


	7. Is That a Yes?

**Disclaimer: I don't own supernatural or its plots, themes or characters.**

**October 15, 2005**

Adam was beginning to doubt if he'd get any sleep at all that night. His bruised ribs hurt like a bitch and it didn't help that he had to share a bed with his brother since dad was staying with them. Dean tended to take up way more space than he actually needed and Adam had to continuously keep kicking off his limbs just to keep the small corner of the bed he miraculously still had.

Adam's eyes snapped open when he heard movement across the room. Shifting his eyes, he tried to make out who or what was there. The darkness was thick; the only light was coming from a bluish tinted street lamp that had worked its way through the thin fabric of the motel's cheap curtains, casting an eerie glow on anything it touched. But Adam was relieved to only find the familiar form of his father, hunched over his duffle. Adam's stomach dropped when he realized he was packing.

"Dad?" Adam asked wearily, sitting up, careful not to disturb his brother.

John's head shot up at his son's quiet voice.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked as his eyes trailed over his father's stacks of clothes and piles of research.

John paused slightly before turning back to his packing.

"Go back to sleep, Adam."

Adam frowned at his father.

Their last hunt had been unusual to say the least. It wasn't often that you came across demonic possession. Demons were nasty sons of a bitches and Adam could certainly attest to that by simply flashing anyone his rather artfully bruised torso. Lucky they were so rare.

However, something about this hunt seemed to have caught their dad's eye because he'd been buried in research since it had ended nearly five days ago.

Adam relinquished his blankets to his brother (who gave an unconsciously happy grunt at his supposed victory) and walked quietly towards where his dad was working and picked up a paper off the top of the closest stack. He had time to read something about a cattle mutilation before the news article was snatched from his hands, making him flinch back, surprised.

Chancing a glance at his father, Adam watched as the man's expression softened slightly as he took in his son's apprehensive stance. John pulled his gaze from Adam and looked down at the article in his hands, seeming to deflate as he breathed a tired sigh.

Adam waited patiently for his father to speak first, as he watched him turn his thoughts over.

"Something's changed out there. Things are happening that haven't happened in twenty years." John muttered vaguely and rather absently, causing Adam's brow to furrow.

"I'm heading to Nevada to check out a lead." John told his son, a little less morbidly as he dropped the article back on its stack and turned back to his packing.

Adam bit the inside of his cheek; he didn't want his dad to leave yet. The most time he ever got to spend with him was during the summer when he and Dean could do whatever for two months without Adam's schooling getting in the way. Sure, Dean was always there but he still missed not having his dad around.

"Can I come?" Adam asked hesitantly.

John looked up from his packing again to give his son a stern look.

"It's dangerous, Adam." He told him firmly.

Adam shrugged, pulling at a loose string in his t-shirt, looking worried about getting shot down.

"I don't care. I do dangerous," he mumbled to the floor.

John suppressed an aggravated groan. He could understand why the kid would want to spend some time with him; he was barely ever around. But this was just about the worst time the kid could have picked for a bonding experience. However, judging by how embarrassed the kid was acting now, just asking him, it was unlikely he'd ever ask again if he said no.

"What about school?" He asked his youngest son wearily.

Adam head snapped up, looking hopeful.

"It's just the beginning of the year; we're not doing a whole lot yet and I can catch up on what I miss, I always do."

John clenched his jaw as he thought over his options. There was no doubt that his youngest was a capable hunter, and it was somewhat mind boggling that he was only fifteen; a newly turned fifteen-year-old at that. He might even have been able to give Dean a run for his money when he was that age: the person the kid owed his skills as a hunter to.

There was no doubt that Dean had done a good job with the kid. And that was just what was pulling at his conscience: _Dean_ had done a good job with him. Of course, he regretted not being able to spend more time with Adam but with their job, it wasn't like he could come visit every weekend and call to say goodnight everyday. Maybe a little time together wouldn't hurt.

"Your brother is going to kill me." John told his son, shaking his head and watching as his Adam's face split into a grin.

"That's a yes?" Adam asked, trying to keep his voice down as not to wake Dean because he knew if he did, he'd never get out of there. His brother didn't seem to trust him with anyone but himself and often avoided needing to leave him in the hands of even their father.

John nodded, giving a small, tired smile.

"Get packed. I'll leave Dean a note."

Adam nodded back, smile splitting his face in two, before sprinting across the room to collect his things before John could change his mind.

Sighing, still unsure about his decision, John made his way over to the motel's small eating table and pulled a pen and paper towards him to scrawl a note.

_Dean-_

_I've got Adam. I'll have him back in a week, don't worry._

John figured he could drive them to Nevada, do all the research and interviewing he needed in a couple days, get Adam back to Dean and then go do any field work that needed to be done. That way everyone would be happy.

Placing the simple note on Dean's beside, John turned back to his packing for the third time. He was actually surprised when Adam was done and ready to go before he was and rolled his eyes as his youngest enthusiastically bounded out the door as they headed to the truck.

Just as he was about to close the door, something made him pause to stare at his oldest for an extra moment, who slept blissfully unaware as his father swept his little brother into the night. In that moment, John felt like the worst parent in the world.

**A/N: A short but important chapter, tell me what you think =) Despite my excess amount of building to where this story really begins, (however, it was kind of necessary to fill in some of the time where Adam was growing up with Dean, otherwise I'm sure there would be some curiosities) there actually is a real plot to this and we're getting to it lol.**


	8. Hurt

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its plots or characters.

**October 31, 2005**

"Yeah, well dad's in real trouble right now, if he's not dead already; I can feel it," Dean said forcefully, trying to get the seriousness of the situation across to Sam.

It was well after midnight and the two Winchesters were standing outside Sam's modest apartment building, having a stand off; neither willing to back down. Dean had almost forgot over the past four years, just how stubborn his oldest brother could be.

Dean sighed lightly, frustrated. This conversation was absolutely exhausting him, however easy that was these days due to the very little sleep he was always running on.

Dean had to turn his eyes away for a moment as not to give away his tangled emotions, before deciding on softer approach that he knew always got to Sam.

Looking back at his brother with sincere eyes, he continued "I can't do this alone."

And it was true. Maybe he had a few weeks ago after his family had first gone missing; but not anymore, he couldn't do it anymore. Not with both his dad's and his brother's lives on the line. The silence and loneliness was becoming oppressive and it wasn't doing him much good. In fact it was driving him absolutely crazy, bonkers, nutso; whatever you wanna call it. He just really needed something familiar to keep him grounded… something family.

Sam's brow creased in confusion at his words.

"Yes, you can."

Dean instantly deflated at his brother's words, feeling a bit like a kicked puppy who'd just been thrown out the door and told to go find its own food and shelter because it wasn't getting it from there anymore.

He paused shortly and knew Sam could see the hurt on his face so he ducked his head to hide it.

"Well, I don't want to," he muttered to his shoes.

Silence followed his words and he could practically feel Sam struggling to find an alternative.

"What was he hunting?" He finally conceded, seemingly unable to find a way out without leaving his brother high and dry.

And Dean could breathe again.

* * *

After a quick briefing on all Dean knew of what was going on, (omitting some things he didn't want to get into; said things including the little brother he had yet to mention) and a little more convincing on Dean's part, he was sitting in the driver's seat of the Impala as Sam tossed his duffle into the back seat and dropped into the passenger's seat.

Dean was in some ways really unsure about this turn of events. Somewhere deep in his heart, he'd expected Sam to tell him to go screw himself and throw him out of his apartment.

He was happy to have him back; _of course_ he was happy to have Sam back.

But he was confused. Someone else had sat in his shotgun seat for a while now and it didn't feel right that he was giving it right back to the person who'd abandoned it in the first place.

Apparently Dean had been staring for too long and Sam was starting to look self conscious.

"What?"

Dean snapped himself out of his untimely ponderings, telling himself to shut up- it was just a car seat- and turned to start the car.

"Nothing, I'm just astounded at just how much taller an already Sasquatch-sized person can get in four years," Dean lied professionally as he backed them out of the ally he'd parked in.

Dean could see Sam rolling his eyes at him out of the corner of his vision.

"Just an inch, Dean."

"Huh. Well, maybe I just forgot how tall you were."

* * *

"Dean, wait, don't you find anything weird about this?" Sam asked, grabbing a hold on his brother's jacket before he could walk past the bedroom of their dad's small motel suite.

Dean looked into the room, at first finding nothing amiss but quickly realized what must have caught his brother's attention. The room held two beds. One on each side of the room and Dean had to suppress a groan of relief as it was the first proof he had that both his dad and Adam were alive. Well, at least they were when they'd rented the room and judging by the smell of the hamburger he'd discovered, that could have been a while ago.

"The motel might have been out of single bed rooms, Sam. Don't go making it sound like some sort of conspiracy," Dean said, raising his eyebrows at his brother in a mocking gesture.

Dean had decided that if Sam was just here for the weekend, he didn't need to know about Adam. If he had any desire to be involved with their family (and therefore the inhabitants of it) he could visit once in a while.

"_Or_ he could be traveling with someone." Sam said, rolling his eyes at his brother's quick dismissal, "Both beds are unmade, Dean." Sam observed, taking another step into the room.

"Soooo, maybe dad slept in one bed one night and the other the next? Everyone likes a freshly made bed…" Dean trailed off as Sam turned to look at him with his own raised eyebrows, accompanied by an expression that clearly worried if his brother had sustained a severe brain injury while he'd been at Stanford. Dean just cleared his throat and shrugged.

"The parking lot's practically empty: there's barely anyone staying here. There should be plenty of single bed rooms, Dean." Sam tried to reason.

"Not everyone has a car, Sam. Plus, there could have been more people staying here when dad rented the room." Dean told his brother, trying to lead him out of the room.

"Do you know something that you're not telling me?" Sam asked suspiciously, Dean's insistent writing off of his discovery making him uneasy.

"What? No. I'm just stating all possibilities…" Dean trailed off.

"Dean…?" Sam said like a question, confused at his brother's secrecy.

Dean paused, searching his brother's face for a minute before shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's nothing, Sam. Seriously, dude, you don't want to hear about it." He stated firmly in a quiet voice before turning and walking from the room, with an interest-peaked Sam hot on his heals.

"No, actually, I think I really do want to hear about it. Who's dad traveling with?" Sam asked; brows knitted together as he followed Dean past the tiny kitchen and into the front room.

"Okay, how bout _I _don't want to talk about it." Dean tossed over his shoulder as he made his way towards his duffle, planning on retrieving some clean clothes. He was really getting sick of having to smell the mud covered ones he was wearing from his little romp in the river. The stench was actually beginning to make him doubt whether or not it was really mud at all.

"Why not? What's the matter with them?" Sam continued questioning, thoroughly confused now.

Dean felt his posture become defensive; Sam was really starting to make him feel claustrophobic.

"There's nothing _the matter_ with him." Dean told his brother reluctantly, as he dug through his belongings, in search of the things he'd need for his shower, "I just don't want to talk about the situation or I'm just gonna start worrying more than I already am and believe me, I didn't even think that was possible until now."

"Him?" Sam tread lightly as he sat against a coffee table that was placed not far from his brother.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's small victory.

"Congratulations, Sam, you just ruled out the female population, three billion to go, right?"

"It's a start." Sam muttered as he continued to turn over Dean's words in his head.

Finally, Dean had collected his clean clothes and made his way towards the bathroom without a word, a distracted Sam having pushed off from his resting place and followed him, not really looking where he was going.

Dean clenched his teeth and spun suddenly at the door, almost making his wandering brother walk right into him.

"Seriously? You're gonna follow me into the bathroom? Quiz me while I shower?" Dean snapped defensively.

Sam blinked, "What?" and then glanced at his surroundings, "Oh, right. Sorry."

Dean glared and snapped the door shut in Sam's face.

Dean relaxed as soon as the warm water hit his skin. Sighing, Dean leaned his hands against the wall under the shower head and arched his neck, letting the water run down his back.

He didn't understand why Adam felt like such a personal subject when talking to Sam, but he did. Maybe it was because Adam had been there when Sam had abandoned him? But that wasn't even true anymore; Adam had up and left right along with their dad.

Dean's fists curled in frustration and anger at the situation. He really couldn't make sense of it anymore, or ever for that matter; it was confusing as hell and made no sense what-so-ever. He couldn't think up a plausible explanation for why the kid would have just up and left with their dad in the middle of the night without a word or even a goodbye. Of course, Dean wouldn't lie, if his baby brother had even began to try and say goodbye to him, he probably would have found himself locked in the trunk of the impala for safe keeping.

The note their dad had left for him had been brief and only told him enough to make him mad. John _knew_ how much that kid meant to him. He should have _known_ to leave him with Dean, no matter the situation. But he hadn't and now look at the crap he'd gone and buried them both in, forcing Dean to dig if he wanted to find either of them. And hey, if it had been so important to leave, why had he been left behind? After a week's hunting with him, had his dad gotten sick of having him around already?

Dean mentally shook himself of that thought, he really shouldn't care about that part; he'd long since gotten used to their dad taking off without him and without warning. Dean just missed his little brother and _damn it_ he was so worried about what might happen to him without him there to protect him. If dad was on to something- something that involved their mom's murder, and it was beginning to look like that was the case- then Dean was afraid he'd get reckless. Dean was afraid he'd risk things he wouldn't normally risk. Dean was just afraid he would never see his baby brother again.

Unnoticed, salty tears mixed with the shower's spray.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry I'm a little late updating. I was having a bit of trouble with the document, but it's all good now. Hope it was an enjoyable chapter :)**


	9. Anger and Confessions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its themes or characters.**

**April 2, 2006**

Roosevelt Asylum had been about as far as any hunt could be from a walk in the park. Both Dean and Sam were physically and emotionally exhausted, thus both Winchesters were unwilling to rise when Dean's phone began ringing. After ignoring a couple of Sam's weak attempts to wake him, Dean was relieved when he heard his brother answer his phone for him, assuming he'd be able to fall back to sleep without really having to wake up at all. But something in his brother's far away sounding voice kept him from doing so. In fact, it was only managing to provoke him further into the land of the living.

The first of Sam's words that registered in his brain had him sitting up in bed and alert within milliseconds.

"Well, we're fine. Dad, where are you?"

Eyes wide with shock, Dean breathed the first question that his still restarting brain could put together.

"Is that dad?"

After listening to his brother's half of the conversation for another minute,

Dean was convinced that it was.

"You're after it aren't you? The thing that killed mom?"

_Shit_, just what Dean _didn't _want to hear.

He was now silently cursing himself for being too much of a lazy arse to wake up and answer his own fucking phone.

"A demon? You know for sure?"

"A demon? What's he saying?" Dean asked anxiously as he pulled a shirt over his head. Had a demon hurt Adam? Were he and dad hunting a demon? Was a demon after them? What? But Sam was paying no attention to him, focused entirely on the conversation he was having.

Dean listened for another minute before holding out his hand for his phone. He couldn't stand it; he wasn't getting any information this way.

"Gimme the phone," he told his brother, giving a prompting wave of his hand which Sam barely acknowledged.

Dean watched as his brother started breathing a little faster as he listened to what dad was telling him.

"No way. No."

Dean wanted to roll his eyes; four years of no contact and the two of them were already fighting and they'd been on the phone for less than five minutes, for god's sake. Dean was _so _not wasting his minutes on _this_, that was for sure.

"Give me the phone." Dean ordered a little more forcefully than the first time.

Sam's face began to shift angrily and Dean wasn't gonna put up with this shit any longer. He was gonna talk to his baby brother and he was gonna do it now and he wasn't about to wait for Sam and their dad to finish arguing to do so.

Dean snatched the phone from his brother's hand and brought it to his ear.

"Dad, it's me. Where are you?"

"Dean, thank god. Your brother is being completely unreasonable. I need you to take down some names," came his father's exasperated voice.

Dean's emotions shifted almost immediately after hearing his father's voice from relieved to furious. He could not believe his dad was actually trying to pull this. Did he seriously think that he could just up and leave in the middle of the night with Dean's little brother (a kid that really belonged to Dean more than John in almost every sense) leaving a note that told him he'd be back in a week, then call him six months later and pretend nothing was the matter?

"What? No, screw you. Is Adam okay?"

And that instantly had his brother's attention, snapping Sam from his angry thoughts, into shocked and curious ones. Dean could almost hear Sam's

mind click as he realized he was about to finally find out this big secret Dean had been keeping him in the dark on for these last couple months.

John paused, clearly not sure if he should scold his son for cursing at him or not; seemingly knowing that he deserved anything his oldest son threw at him at this point.

"Adam's fine, Dean, but this is important. I need you to-"

"Take these names? Yeah, I heard you the first time. I can't believe you're gonna just pretend you actually didn't do anything wrong." Dean said almost laughing at the hilarity of it.

John stayed silent for a long moment and Dean took a breath, trying to calm himself.

"Put him on the phone." Dean ordered firmly, unwilling to talk to his father any longer.

"Dean, it's not safe to stay on the phone for-"

Alright, 'calm' could go to hell.

"Fuck you! You had no right to take him in the first place! Now put my baby brother on the phone!" Dean yelled at his dad, not caring about the consequences as long as he got to talk to Adam.

A dead silence followed his words on both ends of the line: Guilty yet angry on his father's end and shell shocked on Dean's.

"Fine."

As Dean waited, listening to muffled voices, he chanced a look at Sam. The poor kid didn't actually look like he was breathing, prompting Dean to reach a leg across the space between the beds and give his brother's leg a small nudge which only resulted in a blink of incomprehension. Dean frowned at him.

Suddenly Adam's voice was on the line and Dean was pulled from worry for one brother to the other.

"Dean?" Oh, and his voice was so sweet to his ears.

The tension in Dean's body instantly deflated, leaving him with a lingering pit in his abdomen where Dean assumed his stomach had just dropped.

"Damn it, Adam, are you okay?" Dean demanded in the angry voice he got when he was worried all to shit about something and got up and began to pace.

Adam jumped into a panicked and anxious explanation, "Yeah, I'm fine.

Dean, I'm _so _sorry, honest I would never have gone in the first place if I thought I was gonna be away this long. I'm sorry, but dad's got himself buried in a bunch of crap now and I can't just up and leave him without any back up. Believe me; I've kinda wanted to sometimes. I miss you, big brother."

Dean listened to his brother rush out the words all in one breath and he stumbled mid-step in his pacing as he heard all the things he'd been worrying about put to rest with his brother's short tumble of words, said in such a sincere manner that Dean couldn't help but let all his doubts about whether or not he'd been good enough slip away.

Dean let out a sigh as he reached up a hand and scrubbed at his face.

"I miss you too, kiddo." Dean said quietly, not removing the hand from his forehead.

Adam paused slightly before continuing, "Love you, Dean."

Ah, the forbidden word among the Winchester clan. Dean could always count on Adam to bring it up.

"Love you too, kiddo." Dean replied obediently, letting a small smile pull at his lips, hand still attached to his forehead, not really wanting to see the expression on Sam's face.

Dean could all but see the smile that he knew was on Adam's face as his brother ploughed onward.

"It hasn't been all bad, I've been learning a lot. Dad won't tell me much about what we're really hunting, but we've come across a lot of stuff I've never seen before. Large congregations of demons all wanting our heads on a platter being one of them-"

"_What?_" Dean snapped at his brother, hand finally removing itself from his head in shock.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. They were kind of stupid… easily distracted at least," Adam told him, laughing at an apparent memory, "Dad and I got away fine." He finished in a voice that was quietly trying to sooth his brother's worry.

Dean silently gaped at Adam's easy words, before pulling himself together and turning angry again.

"You shouldn't have _been _in a situation like that to begin with, Adam. It's _dangerous _and most definitely not something to laugh about," Dean told Adam icily.

"Oh, come on, Dean. You would be laughing too if you'd been there," Adam tried lightly, worried that he'd upset his brother.

Dean clenched his jaw and shook his head before responding.

"That's kind of my point, kid, I _wasn't _there was I? I'm supposed to protect you," Dean said, falling back to his quietly more vulnerable voice.

Adam chose his words carefully before responding, "I'm alright, Dean. I can take care of myself. And hey, if I can't, I have dad at my back. He's supposed to be the best of the best right?"

"At the job, not always at doing what's best for his sons." Dean replied bitterly, and paused before continuing, "Where are you, Adam? I'll come pick you up. _Dad _can take care of himself for a while; he doesn't need you."

Adam huffed a laugh that didn't carry any humour, "That's what he says too, but I think he does… I'm gonna stick around for a while, 'kay?" Adam asked hesitantly and Dean realized that he was asking for his permission.

All Dean's instincts were telling him to tell the kid, no. No, he wasn't going to 'stick around'. No. Dean was gonna go and get him and take him far, far away to like, Madagascar or something and then he'd be safe; away from all this crap that was going so out of control. So, no, no, no, no, NO, he wasn't going to stay with dad.

But Dean's head was telling him that his baby brother was quite capable as both a hunter and a member of their family, so if he could be there to help their dad out when Dean or Sam couldn't, then he should let him go.

Dean swallowed hard before answering.

"Fine." Dean said sounding half choked as his body rebelled against the word. He could hear Adam exhale, relieved at his brother's concession.

"Dean, I-" Adam began, sounding just as hoarse as he had but was cut short and Dean heard their father's muffled voice in the background, "Um, dad wants me to get you to write down a couple of names, I got a list here…"

"Right, yeah, alright…" Dean said, trying to pull himself together as he quickly located a pen and paper from the bedside, passing Sam who still looked confused but seemed to be putting the pieces together and coming to conclusions.

Dean quickly scrawled down the names Adam read out for him, ending with Vince and Holly Parker.

"Alright, well, dad's getting restless, I think I better go," Adam told him uncomfortably as Dean finished off writing up the list.

"Right, of course," Not quite ready to let his brother leave.

"Be careful, Dean."

Dean snorted, rolling his eyes at his kid brother's worry, "Yeah, whatever, kiddo. You take care of yourself and um… you know… remember everything I taught you." He ended a little shyly, still very unhappy about the situation.

Adam paused before answering in his most sincere voice yet.

"I always do."

And then the line went dead. Dean closed his eyes momentarily and ducked his head, snapping his phone shut, not knowing when would be the next time he'd hear his baby brother's voice. At least now he knew for sure that Adam and Dad were at least alive, if not in just as much danger as he'd feared.

Adam had also put some of his internal worries to rest; he wouldn't have come out and said it but he'd been a little afraid that his brother had just gotten sick of him or something.

The rustle of the bed next to him pulled Dean from his musings and he unwillingly turned to face Sam, where he knew about a thousand questions lay waiting for him. He had some serious blanks to fill in.

Sam sat on the edge of his bed, back a little hunched and looking unsure, his forearms leaning against his knees and with his puppy dog eyes in full swing, and simply waited for Dean to speak.

Taking a deep breath, Dean headed to his own bed and took a position across from his brother in a pose much like Sam's but with his head bent, seemingly examining his hands, feeling inexplicably self conscious. He could feel his brother's eyes following his movements.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, I just didn't know where to start. I mean, how exactly are you supposed to start a conversation like that? Hey, so it turns out we have this little brother…" Dean trailed off, not meeting Sam's eyes.

"When?" Dean glanced up a little at his brother's horse voice.

"Only a couple weeks after you'd left for college." Dean answered, chewing at his lip.

Sam raised his eyebrows in some amount surprise.

"That's a long time."

Dean shrugged, "I guess it has been."

Sam watched his brother for a couple moments before a thought crossed his mind, causing a crease to develop across his forehead.

"How'd he end up with you guys?"

Dean finally raised his eyes to meet his brother, feeling slightly offended: What, did Sam think they should've just abandoned him? Left him with foster care because he would have been 'better off' there.

Seeing a rather ferrous anger building in Dean's eyes, Sam quickly clarified, "No, I mean he's gotta have a mom out there somewhere."

Dean's face softened somewhat, "Ghoul killed her."

Choosing not to comment on his brother's short, to-the-point answers, Sam's face shifted in confusion.

"That's unusual, I've never heard of a ghoul feeding on living people. They're supposed to just be scavengers who live off dead bodies. You know, people mostly just mistake them for really effed up grave robbers who steal bodies from their coffins; which really is the only way hunters can find-"

Dean rolled his eyes and chose to intervene on Sam's smart-boy rant.

"Yeah, well these were ghouls with a debt to settle. Turns out our Dad killed their dad and they were looking for revenge; I'm just thankful they decided to get it while Adam was at school." Dean paused before continuing, "Only thing is, having the kid come home to find his mother's inside strewn around the house isn't the best situation you can hope for."

Sam's brow instantly smoothed in pity, understanding a little better their decision to bring Adam into this life.

"So you and dad have been taking care of him ever since?"

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother again.

"No, Sam, we randomly decide to leave him in small towns we happen to pass through and come back for him weeks later because we wanted a break from the responsibility." Dean answered, sarcastically.

When Sam simply stared at him uncomprehendingly, Dean couldn't help but raise his voice slightly when answering more seriously.

"Yes, Sam, we've been taking care of him ever since."

Dean's frustration finally snapping him to realisation, Sam shook his head a bit and rubbed his eyes.

"Right, sorry."

Dean couldn't help but loose all the ire he had building towards his brother at the utter look of exhaustion Sam had at that moment. Really, he couldn't blame his brother for being a little slow. This had to be a lot to take in and Dean figured he was taking it rather well in comparison to how Dean knew he'd react if he was put in Sam's position.

"Forget about it, man," Dean said, dropping his head again to stare down at his once again fidgeting hands and Sam couldn't help but quirk his lips a bit at his brother's movement.

"So... what's he like? How old is he?" Sam asked, trying to gain some insight.

"Kid turned fifteen in September-"

"Date?" Sam cut in, trying to gain all the knowledge he could about his new brother; a person Dean cared so much about, yet Sam didn't know in the slightest. It was already starting to feel like an insurmountable task to try and meet Dean's high standards as a big brother. He already doubted he could ever match Dean on his best day; I mean he hadn't even cared enough to know the kid existed during the last four years.

Dean gave his brother a little look before answering, "September twenty-ninth."

Sam nodded for Dean to go on and apologized for his interruption at the same time.

"Well, I don't know. What do you want to know about him?" Dean asked, looking for some direction.

A small grin pulled at one side of Sam's face, making it look kind of lopsided.

"I don't know. Favourite books… or comics maybe, if he's anything like you?" Sam teased his brother lightly. "Or you know, what's his personality like? Driven and arrogant like dad or a smarmy jerk like you. What's his favourite food, or who's the better cook out of the two of you-"

Dean finally jumped in at the last sentence, having got caught up in watching his brother fire off eager questions, somewhat confused as to why he was so interested.

"Oh, I don't let that child _near _a stove or even a microwave for that matter." He told Sam quickly and firmly. "Don't _ever _let that kid cook for you or it's taking your life in your hands. Take it from me; I've learnt the hard way."

Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother's reaction, a small smile pulling at his mouth again.

"That bad, is he?"

"You don't even know. I can tell you stories ranging from salmonella poisoning to horror filled desert dishes that combined beef and whipped cream," Dean told his brother seriously, not bothering to point out he'd actually liked the beef-cream pie, however disgusting it should have been (and probably was to someone who wasn't Dean or Adam). Nevertheless,

Dean didn't give his brother much room to experiment.

Sam laughed.

Dean shook his head and sighed, "S'not even funny, dude." Then went on to answer the rest of his brother's questions. "He reads some books and _so do I_ for your information, but yeah, he like his comics… my Playboys actually tend to go missing if I leave them around too. Kid's definitely a smart ass, doesn't take shit from anyone and tends to out wit pretty much anyone who tries. He's still kinda small for a fifteen year old but he's smart in a fight. And hey, I could say you were small at fifteen too and look how hugantic you grew up to be, right jumbo?" Dean said with a grin, giving his brother a little nudge in the leg.

Sam laughed for a second before his laugh turned into a groan, a grin now plastered across his face as he listened to his brother.

"Great, he sounds like a mini you."

Dean chuckled, "He has his moments, but don't be so sure about that. Kid is actually a complete mush ball, all emotions and sharing and caring… So the two of you should get along great. When you meet I'll leave you alone and you can sit on a corner sharing feelings, cuddling and crying on each other's shoulders over that piece of toast you dropped on the floor that one time. It'll be great." Dean told his brother mockingly. I mean, he had to get his brother back for the comic comment somehow… and for calling him _smarmy _(what does that even _mean_?).

Sam glared, trying to conceal a smile.

"What? Crying and cuddling? No, that totally sounds like you."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, you're right. That's totally what I do."

"Yahuh," Sam agreed, seriously.

Dean frowned for a moment before realizing he actually had some blackmail and torment to replace his poorly received (or rather too well received) insult. Dean reached over and grabbed the newspaper he'd written dad's names on and tossed it at his brother.

"Research. We need to figure out what those names mean." Dean ordered.

Sam's face fell comically, clearly not willing to pass over this conversation so quickly, causing Dean to grin at his success.

"You'll have plenty of time to ask your questions while we're driving to wherever those names take us. The quicker we know where that might be, the quicker I can answer your questions, so get moving."

Still looking unsatisfied, Sam did as he was told and made his way to his laptop with paper in hand, if not only because he knew his brother wouldn't budge.

Dean watched his brother go and couldn't help but let a fond and somewhat unsure smile break across his face for a short moment. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but that conversation had gone much better than the disaster he'd been picturing.

Deciding to skip the deep thinking about his feelings, which Dean was decidedly too tired to work through at the moment, he flopped back on his bed, stretched out into a comfortable position and basked in the ever-so smartness of his plan that both won him a free pass on researching and gained him a few extra minutes sleep while Sam tapped away at his laptop.

A/N- Sooo sorry it took so long for this update. I made a small change to this chapter and sent it to my beta like a month ago, but she has yet to get back to me. So I figure a couple unedited paragraphs aren't a big enough deal to make everyone wait any longer. Hope it was okay:)


	10. Good to See You

**Disclaimer: I don't own the story of Supernatural or any of it's characters.**

**April 23, 2006**

Dean took in a deep breath of fresh spring air. It was hard to imagine that less than twelve hours ago he was watching the scenery pass, appreciating how nice it would be that he would die in the spring. He didn't have to worry about that anymore, however. His heart had been 'healed' whatever the hell that was supposed to mean and judging by the information they'd gotten from the doctor they'd just visited, it might not be a completely good thing. Perfectly healthy swimmers don't just drop dead with heart failures on a daily basis after all.

Dean swung the passenger's side door closed (Sam still wasn't letting him drive) and rolled his eyes when he found his brother was already halfway around the car, with his intentions clearly set on helping him walk to the room. Not waiting for the assistance, Dean turned on his heal and made a quick beeline towards the motel before his brother could catch up.

Dean pushed through the door, intent on getting some privacy. Maybe taking a shower or ditching his brother and heading out to pick up some dinner for them; however Dean didn't get that far, stopping dead in his tracks not two steps into the room when his eyes fell on a figure strewn across the far bed.

The next instant his mind stopped working when the head on the pillows snapped up to meet him. He deftly heard Sam inquire behind him, but he really wasn't paying enough attention to hear what he said. His feet were carrying across the room in long strides, his brain only starting to make sensible thought again when Adam jumped to his feet only to almost fall to the ground in apparent pain. Dean managed to jump forward take a hold under his brother's arm and grab a handful of his t-shirt before Adam could make contact with the floor.

"Whoa, easy there, bro. What was that? Are you okay? What's the matter with you? What're you doing here? Where's dad? Is he okay? Do you have _any_ idea how worried about you I've been?"

At some point soon after Dean started talking, Adam jumped in and they ended up talking over each other.

"What the hell do you mean, am _I_ okay? Sam called dad's phone and said you were _dying_. Dad was being an idiot about it so I came by myself. He wasn't going to come at all, can you _believe_ that? So, seriously are you okay? You don't look sick."

Both Winchesters ended up trailing off at about the same time, Dean still not having relinquished his hold on his brother and bent down slightly so he was at eye level with him while Adam gestured wildly as he ranted. When both remained silent, waiting for answers to their own questions neither having really heard the other's, Dean frowned down at his brother.

"Did you listen _anything_ I just said, or am I gonna have to repeat myself?"

Adam only frowned back at him, "Did you hear anything _I _just said? You were being kind of loud."

Dean huffed a laugh and was knocked back a step as Adam lunged forward and a pair of arms wrapped around his middle. Dean didn't even bother rolling his eyes, just wrapped his own arms around his brother's shoulders and gave the kid's hair a little brush through, offering Sam, who was standing rather awkwardly just inside the door, a happy smile over the kid's head. Yeah, Dean was feeling pretty _whole_ at the moment. It was the first time he'd ever had both baby brothers in one room at the same time, and the lack of worry he always held when either one brother or the other was absent (which Dean wouldn't dare call separation anxiety) left Dean feeling slightly giddy.

"Alright," Dean finally said; worry for Adam's well-being winning over the want to keep his brother close. He pulled far enough away so he could look Adam in the face. "So about that whole 'almost collapsing' thing that happened when you got up…" He trailed off waiting for his brother to continue.

Adam only glared, "How bout that whole, 'you're dying' thing." he retorted, reattaching himself around Dean's middle, actually making Dean role his eyes this time, "You're not actually dying, right? It was like a joke or a trick or Sam was lying or something…" Adam muttered into his chest, sounding much younger than he actually was, Dean's shirt making the sound come out muted; barely loud enough for the ears in the room to pick up.

Dean's jaw twitched at the fear in his brother's voice and saw Sam shift out of the corner of his eye, clearly more than just a little uncomfortable, unsure of what to do.

"Okay. Alright. C'mon, kiddo." Taking his brother's forearms in his hands and physically detaching himself, but didn't let go of his arms and looked Adam in the eyes.

"Do I look like I'm dying? I'm fine, seriously, perfectly healthy. Sam wasn't lying, I was pretty sick for a while there but we fixed it. I'm healed." Dean explained, giving a reassuring grin.

Adam's narrowed his eyes, "For sure?" he asked a little more steadily.

"For sure."

Dean was suddenly on the receiving end of a none-to-light punch to the shoulder, causing Dean's breath to leave him.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" Dean said rubbing at his shoulder.

"For letting me bawl all over you for nothing! You could have said something." Adam returned defensively.

"Well it's not like you were giving me much chance, you kept talking over me."

"Only because you weren't answering any of my questions, you just kept asking a bunch of your own." Adam argued.

"I hope you realized I'd have you in a face plant with the floor by now if I didn't know you were already injured. That was a fricken hard punch, dude, save those for the real thing or you'll end up breaking a knuckle."

"What? Afraid of some real competition?" Adam asked, grinning wickedly.

"I'm only worried that you're far too small and fragile to be throwing punches like that." Dean needled.

"Or _you're_ far too small and fragile to _take_ punches like that."

"Oh please, don't even begin to talk to me about size, midget."

"Well, I'm gaining on _you_."

"Ha, I doubt you've grown an inch since I last saw you."

"_Two_."

"Bullshit."

They were both grinning like mad men by this point, the familiar banter putting them both more at ease than they'd felt in months.

Dean was first to break eye contact, shaking his head and took a seat on the bed.

"So what's actually wrong with you? Anything I have to worry about? You don't really seem in any pain now unless you count being a pain in the ass."

Adam shrugged, not saying anything which instantly set Dean on edge: Adam had that same look on his face that he got when he really didn't want to tell Dean something, but knew it was gonna be pulled from him regardless.

"Adam…" Dean started in a firm voice, knowing that's all he'd need.

The kid just shrugged, looking at his shoes, "I, uh, kinda got stabbed."

Dean was on his feet again in a second.

"Sit," Dean ordered, herding his brother towards the closest bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sam making a sort of jerking movement, still unsure of where he actually fit. Dean would fix that. One brother at a time for now.

Adam didn't resist but tried to sooth his brother's worry as he sat down on the edge of the bed, "Dean, it's okay; it's like a week old. Dad already took care of it."

"Well, now I can take care of it."

"Dean, it's not like I damaged anything vital or I wouldn't be walking. Stab wounds just tend to hurt for a while, you know that." Adam tried to reason.

"I at least want a look at it. I can change the bandage or something." Dean shot right back.

"I just changed it this morning." Adam said, rolling his eyes at his brother's persistence.

"Good, then it's due for changing, isn't it?" Dean returned, not really saying it like a question, pushing his brother to lay back on the bed.

"Uh, no it's not. Seriously, it barely has any discharge."

"It has discharge?"

Adam rolled his eyes again, knowing he wasn't about to win the argument.

"Where is it?"

Adam lifted his shirt halfway up his torso to reveal a white bandage plastered to his side. Dean worked silently as he pealed it away to reveal the nasty looking wound, but Dean had to admit, it looked pretty clean and was stitched up closely. With any luck Adam would come out with only a small scar, however just seeing how close it was to some vital regions made Dean's stomach clench painfully.

"Alright, I'm just gonna go grab some stuff from the first aid kit. I'll be right back, stay still."

Dean got to his feet, turning on his heal in the same motion, only to almost run straight into Sam who was hovering at his shoulder trying to get a look at the wound with a creased brow. He quickly stepped back, giving Dean a sheepish look.

Dean paused long enough to give Sam an encouraging quirk of his mouth and miniscule nod towards Adam before heading out the door.

……………………………………………

After Dean passed by him, Sam's gaze wandered back to Adam to find his eyes lingering on the door as it shut behind their brother. As soon as the door snapped shut Adam sat up in bed, shirt falling back into place, gaze anchored on him, causing Sam raise amused eyebrows at the kid's blatant disobedience to Dean's order.

Adam just shrugged at the gesture, "He's over reacting."

Sam snorted, disbelieving, "Oh yeah, over reacting at finding out his little brother got stabbed. Now I _know_ you're a Winchester."

Adam grinned, "It's not gonna kill me to sit."

"Well no, but still stab wounds aren't exactly something to take lightly. You can't blame him," Sam said, letting a little worry creep onto his face.

Adam gave another little shrug and let the subject trail off as he looked up at who he assumed was his brother.

Sam chewed at the side of his cheek, feeling awkward and self conscious once again and he sat down on the bed opposite. Adam had those same eyes as Dean; the kind that made you feel like they saw right through you.

"So you're Sam…?"

"Yeah, that would be me," he answered weakly, hands fidgeting with each other as he leaned forward on his knees.

Adam nodded, looking to his own hands, "I'm Adam…"

A smile quirked the side of Sam's mouth, "Yeah, I guessed. Dean's reaction didn't give that away or anything"

Adam just shrugged.

Silence wore for a moment before Adam spoke, "So is Dean this overprotective of you too or does he just like annoying me."

Sam huffed a little laugh, "Naw, I think if I showed up with a stab wound he'd sentence me to bed rest for at least a week."

His brother groaned, "But it's already _been_ a week and I'm fine."

"Won't matter."

Adam just frowned, knowing the truth in that all too well.

Sam smiled a little, "It's just 'cause he's worried." He tried soothing.

Adam made a sound of begrudging acknowledgment.

Sam studied his brother's face for a second before giving a disbelieving snort, "You know, I keep forgetting that you've already been doing this for a few years now. It really doesn't feel like it's been four years since I've been doing this."

"That's just 'cause you've been off doing boring shit at college." Adam smiled, teasing lightly.

Sam huffed a little laugh, "Not interested in school then?"

"Not really, no." Adam answered, choosing not to elaborate, thinking saying something like 'I'd rather stay with my family' would be a rather nasty sting to his brother, even if it wasn't meant to be.

"It actually feels like forever to me," Adam continued, referring to Sam's earlier comment.

"Yeah, well, Dean tends to make life interesting," Sam said, smiling fondly, "When you have something to remember every day, time stretches a bit."

Adam laughed, agreeing whole-heartedly. His brother's passion for life was one of the reasons he looked up to him so much.

The silence stretched again for a moment, both brothers ingesting their first impressions.

Sam noticed Adam kept looking at him like he had something on the tip of his tongue causing him to shifted a little uncomfortably, "What?"

A smirk pulled at the side of Adam's mouth, "No, it's nothing. It's just Dean's always threatening me about how I better not get any taller than him, but he really wasn't kidding when he said you could be mistaken as the guy from 'Big Fish'."

Sam couldn't help but laugh.

……………………………………………

Dean walked in carrying a white bandage and some cleaning salve and made his way across the room.

"I thought I told you not to move." Dean huffed, looking at Adam with exasperated eyes.

"Ooooh, you meant 'still' as in don't move? I thought you meant '_still'_ as in a place where beer is kept. See, I thought that was kinda weird; didn't make any sense, but you were looking kind of stressed so I didn't bother asking. But if you meant 'still' as in 'don't move' you should have just said so..." Adam rambled giving his brother a cocky grin.

"Shut up, Adam. I'll pass on the smart-ass, thanks," Dean snapped, as he knelt down next to his brother and began peeling back the wrapping on the bandage he'd retrieved.

Adam calmed his grin into a small smirk, not really wanting to piss off his brother too badly after just reuniting with him. He pulled his shirt back up and leaned back on his hands so Dean could have easy access to his wound, knowing he wasn't about to convince his brother to let him do the simple task himself.

There was a short moment's silence as Dean twisted open the salve.

"So how'd you end up with this anyway?" Dean raised his eyebrows at Sam's brave question and glanced in his direction, glad to note his brothers hadn't just sat in uncomfortable silence in his absence.

He knew it sounded a little parentish of him, but he _really_ hoped the two would get along and worried they wouldn't; he had no interest in another Dad/Sam sort of feud. Neither really had much reason not to like each other. He supposed Adam had a legitimate reason or two to have a bit of a grudge against his brother, but the kid didn't really have it in him to hold anything against anyone for long. Plus, it wasn't like it was Sam's fault that he hadn't met Adam till now; you can't meet someone you never knew existed after all, and really that was the whole family's fault. They'd all had a part in driving each other away or not telling each other things that they maybe should have.

"Well, me and dad had been having quite a bit of trouble since the beginning of the month; I'm guessing we should have listened to dad when he said to keep that phone call short. There was a demon waiting for us at a motel room dad and I had rented. It was pretty much just stupidity on my part, I walked into the room without really looking and the thing was standing to the side of the door and just reached out and stuck me. Not entirely sure what happened after that, was in quite a bit of pain and I ended up passing out after a minute or two, I was bleeding a hell of a lot, but from what I gather Dad kicked some demonic ass" Adam explained.

By this point, Dean was spreading some of the cream he'd retrieved over his brother's wound, frowning down at it. Only snorting lightly at Adam's words and muttering an exasperated "Demons" to himself; astounded at the sheer amount of demonic activity that had been going on, and his family's apparent stupid attraction they seemed to have to them.

Adam continued after a minute, when both brother's remained in thoughtful silence.

"I think he was kinda glad to get rid of me after that. Didn't want to worry about hunting with a liability," Adam glared down at his own wound.

The two oldest Winchester brothers glanced up at hearing the resentment in their youngest's voice. Dean frowned a little deeper before turning back to the job at hand; choosing not to comment as he taped the white bandage over the wound, finishing off.

"Alright, kiddo. You rest. Sam and I've got some research to do and a reverend to see."

"What? No, I can help," Adam protested, moving to get up but was held back by a firm hand.

"Lay down or I tie you there," Dean ordered, raising his eyebrows challengingly, leaving no room for debate.

Adam glared a little bit, "Fine, but if you're gonna sentence me to bed rest than at least let me get up and change into something that isn't jeans."

"Where's your bag?" Dean asked, standing up.

Adam rolled his eyes, "Seriously?"

"Found it," Sam announced, reaching backwards to the other side of the bed he was sitting on and pulled the duffel out of the space between the bed and the wall, tossing it to Dean, who set it down next to a frowning Adam and began shuffling through it, eventually pulling out a ratty pair of plaid pajama bottoms and passed them to his brother.

"There," Dean said, offering a mocking smile.

"Thanks." Adam returned sarcastically.

Dean laughed at the look on his face, "No problem, kiddo," and set the bag down between the beds.

"Alright, lets get started on that research you seem so keen on," Sam declared, getting to his feet and heading in the direction he'd abandoned his laptop.

"Right…" Dean didn't move to follow right away but stood, looking down at Adam for another moment, who was fiddling with some loose strings on the PJ pants he'd just received.

Dean was still having a little trouble processing the fact that his baby brother was sitting right there, safe in his motel room. Right there where Dean could protect him or just look over and know he was safe: something he was so used to doing, but which had now been absent for many months.

A big relieved smile tried pulling at his lips as he processed all this, but Dean kept it to himself, knowing he'd look like a complete loon if he let a smile that big slide onto his face.

Dean settled for just combing a hand through his brother's hair once (he honestly didn't remember when that had become such a habit) and gave a little smirk.

"Good to have you back, baby brother."

A/N: Yes, I know it has been forever since my last post again. I'm now looking for a new beta, because as good as the one now is, she takes far too long to get chapters back to me. I've had 3 chapters just sitting here for months, so if anyone's interested let me know.

Sorry, if this one's a little rough grammar wise. It hasn't been proof read by anyone other than myself, but hopefully you all enjoyed it and didn't have to work too hard at remembering what has been going on in chapters previous. I know I hate it when authors take forever updating. Apologies.


	11. Daffy Duck's Cruel Demise

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of her wonderful plots or characters.

**May 1, 2006**

Adam was beginning to suspect Dean wasn't coming home tonight. Not that he was particularly worried, he expected his brother was with Cassie; it was good that the two of them could finally work things out or at least get some closure after all this time. Adam remembered how hurt Dean had been when they'd left Cape Girardeau two years ago, after the girl had dumped him. It wasn't like Dean let it show at all, but Adam could see it had hurt him. She really was a cool chick and Adam totally saw why his brother fell for her, but he had some serious doubts as to their future... and considering their job: any of their futures with any girl.

To be completely honest, Adam couldn't bring himself to care too much at the moment. The two remaining Winchesters, who sadly didn't have any pretty girls to seduce, were lying back their beds in the motel room, surrounded by junk food and watching bad late night television as the clock snuck past midnight. Currently, an old Frosted Flakes commercial flashed across the screen, causing Adam to squint in a poor attempt of concentration.

"Which breakfast cereal mascot creeps you out the most: Tony the Tiger or Lucky the Leprechaun?" Adam asked, breaking the long standing silence, truly curious.

"Neither. The Honey Combs monster. It's eyes are too big, they freak me out".

Adam snorted.

"Well, what's yours?" Sam asked, a little defensively.

"Lucky's a close second with his sneaky, stalkerishness, but Tony the Tiger's gotta win out," Adam admitted, "He yells too much and seriously, what kind of tiger can play basket ball?"

"Awesome ones," Sam answered, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Adam glared, "You play with him then; see how long it takes for him to start using your head as the ball."

"I'd love to, but seeing as he's an animated character, I'm fairly certain I'd find it impossible to challenge him to a game. You find me a real life basketball-playing tiger and maybe I'll reconsider."

Adam grinned, "You're just afraid that he'd totally kick your ass."

Sam chuckled, "Right, Adam, _that's_ it".

"You know it," Adam mumbled into a handful of Twizzlers.

Sam chuckled again and let the subject drop.

After a moment of some thought Adam spoke up again.

"If you could have any dinosaur for a pet, what would you pick?"

Sam openly laughed at this question.

"Wow, um… Brontosaurus. You know the ones with the really long necks? 'Cause… well first of all they're herbivores, so it wouldn't want to eat me and second, they're really big so you can ride 'em around." Sam explained, if not only to appease his brother's odd curiosities.

Adam laughed a little, looking thoughtful, "That's actually a cool choice".

Sam made a sound of agreement as he took a handful of potato chips.

"Plus you can use their neck as a slide".

Sam had to give his brother an odd look at that comment as he chewed on his snack.

"What would you pick?" Sam asked after he'd swallowed.

"I dunno… I think like a Velociraptor or something awesome like that, 'cause then you can train 'em and be all bad ass, walking around with a pet raptor on your heal...Seriously, how awesome would we be as hunters with a man-eating dinosaur on our side? We'd go down in history," Adam declared happily, causing his brother to laugh at how enthusiastic he was about the idea, "Do you think a Velociraptor could win against a vampire?"

"Couldn't tell you, I've never seen a Velociraptor in action," Sam responded amused, causing Adam to hum in thought.

"If we're talking Jurassic Park Velociraptors, then I think it would be a pretty fair fight. Those things are freaky sons a bitches." Adam responded, thoughtfully.

"Alright; pet raptor, I'll put it on the shopping list, we'll have to test that theory out," Sam continued sarcastically

"Yay," Adam rejoiced just as facetiously.

Another minute of silence passed before Adam asked a new question.

"If you had the choice between eating a deep-fried frog or four live cockroaches, which-"

"Dude, seriously?" Sam asked; finally turning to look at his brother. "What's with the weirdest version of twenty questions ever?"

Adam glanced at his brother but only held his gaze for a moment before dropping his eyes back to his small mountain of sweets, embarrassed at the answer; however, had to stop and wonder if maybe aforementioned mountain may be the cause.

Adam gave a small shrug.

"Just trying to get to know you," Adam admitted shyly, fiddling with a wrapper.

Sam immediately lost all amusement he had of the situation and instantly felt bad for making his brother admit this and more so, for not realizing the cause of it to begin with.

"You usually learn more with stupid, crazy questions than you do with questions like 'What's your favorite color'" Adam continued embarrassed. "But I mean, you don't-"

"The frog." Sam cut in before Adam could finish.

Adam looked up to meet his brother's eyes, letting a little grin pull at his lips, "Ew, that's disgusting".

"Well, it's not like you gave me much of a choice and I've had bad experiences with cockroaches."

Adam laughed; not looking quite as uncomfortable as he had a second ago, but he didn't continue his questioning, causing Sam to frown.

After a moment's internal debate, Sam decided to force it.

"Which Indiana Joans movie would you most want to be a part of in real life: 'Temple of Doom', 'Last Crusade', or 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'?" Sam asked as he turned back to the TV, working on a new handful of chips.

Adam eyed his brother for a moment before going ahead and answering.

"Raiders. Has the hottest chick by far" He answered confidently as he dropped another gummy worm into his mouth; usually a candy Dean hogged, but Adam wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards his brother at the moment seeing as he had just recently started allowing Adam out of bed for more than 10 minutes at a time due to his 'injury' which honestly hadn't hurt him in more than 5 days.

"What? Seriously? I always liked the chick from Last Crusade," Sam said, surprised.

Adam snorted, "You would."

"Hey! Watch it, kid" Sam scolded, laughing, and halfheartedly threw his spare pillow across the short cavern between beds to land with a soft thud against his brother's side.

"Hey, I'm wounded, remember? You shouldn't blame me for what I say through my pain _or_ be throwing pillows at me for that matter," Adam rebuked with a mocking grin.

Sam laughed, "Oh yeah, all you've been doing for the last week has been trying to convince Dean that you're absolutely fine and now you want me to believe you're saying delusional things due to the amount of pain you're in, while you eat Twizzlers and watch late night television? Yeah, not happening."

A small smile pulled at Adam's lips as he glared over at his brother.

"Well, fine. If that's how you wanna play, I can play like that."

Next thing Sam knew, a familiar pillow greeted side of his head, causing him to spill the chips he was holding onto the bedspread. He took a moment to chew at the inside of his cheek, pondering his course of action before turning to stare down at his brother.

Adam just gave a challenging lift of his eyebrows as he popped another gummy bear into his mouth with a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"I am _so_ not having a pillow fight with a fifteen year old," Sam stated simply and turned back to the TV only to have another pillow fly at his head, this time using his quick reflexes to shield himself.

"What? Afraid you'd lose?" Adam asked mockingly.

"Oh, no. I'd win."

"Yeah? Try it. Or are you too out of shape from all that studying you can't even win a pillow fight with a teenager, college boy?" Adam goaded.

Needless to say, that after that comment a rather violent and passionately fought pillow war ensued. After some war cries, diving over beds and a rather spectacular yell of 'timber' when Adam managed to trip his brother up as he lunged for another attack, Adam made a frantic sprint for the door; hoping to find refuge in the outdoors. He didn't get too far, however, as he was tackled to the ground, steps from freedom and began getting pummeled from above with a large white pillow. After a couple hits, Adam managed to grab the end of the pillow and wrap his arms around the middle of it as Sam fought to free it.

"Dude, let go!" Sam yelled through his laughter.

"No, you'll hit me," Adam yelled back.

"Well, duh, that's kinda the point".

The pillow suddenly gave a loud ripping sound right as Sam gave a hard pull, using his legs as leverage and then all was a world of feathers. When they finally settled, half the floor was covered, and more amusingly a certain Winchester was entirely enveloped with white fluffies. Sam stood a few feet back with half a pillow case in his hand.

The brothers were silent for a moment before Sam let go a highly restrained snort of laughter as he stared down at his brother, covering his mouth to hide the smile when Adam glared up at him.

"You look like Daffy Duck!" Sam burst, folding over in laughter.

Adam glared all the more fiercely as he got to his feet, doing his best to brush off all the feathers while his brother continued to laugh. He paused in his attempts when his eyes fell on the rest of the room.

"Holy shit."

Sam's laughs died down a bit when he heard the surprise in his brother's voice and followed his gaze.

"Holy shit."

The room was trashed. Night stands knocked over, blankets on the floor, a lamp broken on the ground and feathers. Feathers all over _everything_.

"Sam… Look what you did." Adam remarked, a smile pulling at his lips.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"You're right, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault," Sam agreed, sarcastically.

"Damn right, it is," Adam finished.

Both took another minute to survey the damage.

"I really don't feel like cleaning this up…" Adam admitted tiredly.

"Yeah, me neither," Sam agreed, noting the time was nearing one o'clock.

"Good, then we're agreed that we won't" Adam declared happily, jumping into his bed which was empty of both blankets and pillows and everything, but for an excess amount of feathers.

After only a moment, Adam lifted his head.

"The feathers are poking me" He complained, Sam just rolled his eyes as he reached for one of his abandoned blankets and shook it of any feathers it was hiding.

"Yeah, they tend to do that."

"It's uncomfortable."

"Really?"

"What're you doing?" Adam asked, watching as his brother carried his blanket to the far corner of the room.

"Sleeping somewhere feather-free." Sam explained, laying out his blanket on the carpeted floor before laying down and pulling it around himself.

Only a couple seconds later, Sam heard his brother moving around on the other side of the room and moments later he felt Adam trying to get comfortable with his own blanket, who soon huffed a frustrated sigh.

"This isn't comfortable either."

"Well, you shouldn't have started this mess; then we'd both have a bed to sleep in," Sam scolded.

"Hey, I thought we both agreed that that was your fault." Adam teased.

"Whatever," Sam rebuked, smiling slightly.

He was almost asleep when he felt something tickling at his neck, making him slap at it. He pulled his hand away to find a leafy, white duck-down.

"Dude, you brought feathers to bed!" Sam complained angrily.

"Well, _sorry_ I kind of have them all over me. You exploded a whole pillow full on me, or has that slipped your mind already?"

"You could have changed or something, I made an effort to _not _bring any feathers over here."

"I'll remember that for next time then," Adam said, happy to be getting his brother back somehow.

Sam snorted, "Thanks."

"No problem."

Both brothers fell asleep quickly, shoulder to shoulder, happy for the same reasons despite the uncomfortable floor.

…...

Dean ran a hand along the impala's hood as he trudged towards their motel room, both brothers in tow, glad that she only had a couple scratches from the night's events. It could have been much worse considering they'd had a killer, ghost truck on their heals an hour ago.

Dean was just looking forward to crawling into bed and sleeping for a week after today's events, not to mention he hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep last night. That brought a small smile to his face. After checking out the latest death the Winchesters had spent the day in the library and around town trying to find some sort of connection between the victims (not Dean's idea of fun) and then Cassie calling and telling him a ghost truck was trying to kill her (hadn't been much fun either) and then he, himself almost being killed by said ghost truck (even more not fun)… Dean was very ready for some sleep.

Dean opened the door and took a step in, however the state of the room quickly stopped his next step, and caused him to take a moment to surveying the room in front of him in shock.

"What the…" Dean trailed off when he heard two groans behind him and turned to face his brothers who were leaning on either side of the door frame looking reluctant to move any further.

"I forgot," Sam groan, leaning into his arm.

"Mhm," Adam agreed looking lazily around the room.

Dean looked from one brother to the other, completely baffled.

"What the fuck happened in here? I leave you two alone for one night and you completely trash our motel room?" Dean snapped angrily.

"Well, no, that's not exactly how it happened…" Sam started but trailed off, positive that the true story would not impress his brother anymore than believing they'd simply torn up the place would.

Dean raised his eyebrows, waiting for someone to continue.

Adam just shifted uncomfortably and discretely pointed at his brother. Sam's keen eyes, however caught the action, causing him to turn and glare.

"Oh, thanks for throwing me under the bus, Adam, really."

Adam just threw him a tiredly, sarcastic smile.

Dean rolled his eyes at the two of them, "Can_ someone_ please tell me what happened here?"

Both youngest Winchesters just dropped their gazes to search around the room for an answer that wouldn't get them in trouble.

After about a minute of no brilliant ideas, Adam spoke up, "Well, Daffy Duck stopped by and it turns out he's an angry drunk and he just went off the handle and-"

Sam half collapsed in laughter and Dean stormed past the both of them.

"Dean, wait! Where're you going? I haven't told you about the Velociraptor yet, it was vicious! Tore Daffy to shreds!" Adam called after his brother as he followed him out of the room, "Where are you going?"

"To get a new motel room and pay for damages, thanks to you two," Dean called over his shoulder, angrily.

Adam stumbled to a halt a few steps out the door, "Hey, alright! Good idea! Thanks big bro!" He said, giving his brother a little wave which went completely ignored.

Sam walked to his brother's side and as they watched Dean walk off, "He'll get over it."

Adam laughed, "Yeah, I know"

A/N: Okay, soooo I didn't abandon this as I'm sure many of you thought: just been super busy following a dream and haven't had time to add the one more scene to the middle of this like I've been wanting to for ages. I actually still haven't added it, but it was taking me so long to do so I figured I might as well just forget about it and post. I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. I really hate using the "I'm too busy" excuse, but seriously: I was off in the Nicaraguan jungle for weeks teaching kids, therefore working with VERY limited internet access.

Thank you so much for all the beta offers! I've decided to just do it myself, because the next few chapters will be coming along so slow I'll have plenty of opportunities to read them over a million times; I can tell you that this one certainly was.

So, I WON'T be abandoning this, but I can assure you the chapter-writing will be traveling at snail pace. It's your decision whether you wanna keep waiting for them or not. Truly sorry to keep my readers waiting!


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